Minnesota Barlows: Happy 5th Birthday, Kylie Bean!

Happy Birthday to this sweet girl!

Kylie has the kindest, sweetest heart. It really is all rainbows and butterflies with her. Most days are "the best day ever" and she often dreams about "riding 100 unicorns." She says things like, "I love you no matter what," and "I want to snuggle with you forever." She constantly melts my heart with her sweetness. I pray that she always keeps her optimistic and hopeful spirit. She makes us happier that we ever dreamed possible.

Every year on Kylie's birthday, we reflect on her birth story. Her arrival was so surprising and scary, and we are so blessed that she is so healthy and thriving today. It's hard to believe she started out so small!

I asked Kylie about her favorite things again this year. These are the same questions I have asked her on the previous two birthdays. Here are her answers:

Favorite color: pink and purple

Favorite animal: unicorn

Favorite TV show: "Shimmer and Shine"

Favorite movie: "Frozen" and "Tinker Bell"

Favorite food: grapes and carrots

Favorite drink: apple juice

Favorite toy: American Girl Doll

Favorite lunch: PB and Nutella sandwich

Favorite outfit: comfy dress with gray leggings

Favorite snack: s'more mix (chocolate chips, marshmallows, and golden grahams)

Favorite song: "Wagon Wheel"

Favorite book: any princess book

Best friends: Annie, Claire, Addison, Abby, Carly, and Emma

Favorite holiday: 4th of July and Valentine's Day

Favorite thing to do outside: Ride bikes and scooters

Favorite thing to do at school: Play with friends

Favorite thing to take to bed with you: Bunny

What do you want to be when you grow up? Ice Skater

What did you eat for dinner on your birthday? Cheese pizza

A few other things she likes to do...Go running, reading books, doing puzzles, playing games, making crafts, coloring, writing/copying words and letters, eating chocolate, swimming, gymnastics, taking baths, helping with basic chores (setting the table and sweeping) and having play dates with her friends!

There are a few things that she dislikes...Being left alone anywhere (bedroom, car, etc...), watermelon, wearing jeans that are too loose, carbonated beverages, picking up her toys, and saying good bye to visitors.

As far as her milestones over the past year, most of her gains have come cognitively. She knows all the letters and letter sounds, and I think is ready to start reading. I haven't really worked with her on it, but I am hoping to start soon. She writes several words (from memorization) including her entire name, Brooks, mom, dad, cat, bat, boo, zoo, cow, and maybe a few more. She can count to 100, and do some basic addition. She can draw basic people, animals, flowers, and picture scenes.

I have noticed a couple of developments in her gross motor skills as well. She can hop on both feet without holding on to anything, and can skip with her left side, but is still working on the right. She loves running, and has decent form. She can kick a ball, and throw a ball into a target. She enjoys sports, especially the two she is currently involved in, gymnastics and swimming. In gymnastics, she can do a forward roll, handstand on the wall, and a basic cartwheel. In swimming, she can front crawl the width of the pool, float on her front and her back, and glide underwater the width of the pool. She just moved up from the beginner level to the glider level in swimming.

Kylie is still a great sleeper and eater. She sleeps from about 8pm-8am, but she no longer naps. She did stop sucking her thumb last winter. It was much easier to get her to stop than I thought it was going to be, but with the lack of thumb sucking came the lack of napping! Oh well! She now does quiet time from about 1:30-3:30pm, during which she does puzzles, crafts, color pictures, and "read." She will try every food that I give her, mostly because she is highly motivated by a dessert bribe. She also drinks lots of milk and water.

I am not exactly sure of her measurements, but I weighed her on the scale and she was about 45 pounds*. She is still taller than most of her classmates. She has her check up in a few weeks, so we'll know her height, weight, and percentiles then. She is wearing mostly size 6 clothes, and size 11-12 in shoes.

*Kylie had her well-child appointment on 12/9/15. She weighed 47 pounds (84th percentile) and was 45 inches tall (90th percentile)! She has some good Barlow height genes working! She also had 3 shots, but she took 'em like a champ with only a few tears!

This year, Kylie was more excited for her birthday than ever before. She has been planning for her big day for months! She woke up to streamers in her doorway, and her favorite breakfast food, cinnamon rolls! She went to school as usual, but because Brooks has his "school" on Thursday, I pulled Kylie out a little early so that we could eat a special lunch together. Obviously, she picked "Pranera!" After lunch, we drove out to the American Girl store so that she could pick out her very own American Girl Doll. She has been asking for over a year for an American Girl. She picked Rebecca, and the doll has not left her side since we got her 4 days ago. That afternoon, she had gymnastics which is one of her favorite things to do, so that worked out well. For dinner, she requested that we go out for cheese pizza. We went to Pies and Pints with Greg and Kaaren for a yummy pizza dinner! We ended the evening with some present opening and face timing with the grandparents! She told me several times that it was "the best day ever!"

Here are some pictures of her special day: