Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"- Isaiah 9:6.

13 Months!

Another month has gone by too fast...Our baby girl is already 13 months!

This month Kylie is loving all of her new toys, especially anything that she can hit against another toy or the ground. She likes to pull up on anything and everything. She is really starting to move and explore a lot! Her favorite places and spaces to explore include the lazy susan (which is scary because that is where all of our canned foods live), the stove drawer, the bathroom (gross), and mine and Jon's bedroom. Kylie's favorite game right now is called, "I'm going to get you." As she is crawling away, I say to her, "I'm going to get you," and she starts crawling away as fast as she can. Every now and then she looks back and smiles! It's really cute! She is getting so much smarter and more fun! Although, there is a lot more chasing going on right now on our part, we are really loving this stage.

Kylie is starting to get more vocal when expressing her feelings about things she doesn't like. In other words, she has started the whining stage....It's the only thing I don't like about this age. She loves to eat, but does not like when we are eating and she's not. She doesn't like to be forced to stay still for longer than 5 seconds, which happens regularly when I change her diaper or clothes. During those times, she is constantly gator rolling and then whining when I make her lay still on her back. She also doesn't like having her hair washed. She used to be okay with it, and I don't really know what brought about this change. I might have to try to combat it with swimming lessons this spring/summer. Another new dislike of Kylie's is wearing headbands, which is KILLING me! :) She pulls them off almost immediately, so these days she is headbandless most of the time. :(

Kylie continues to meet new milestones regularly. She started pulling up in the beginning of November, but she has more recently started cruising (or lateral walking as Jon calls it). She was having a hard time getting down from standing, but now she is completely comfortable plopping down onto her bottom. Sometimes when she is standing up at the coffee table she will reach for the couch or chair, so I am hoping she lets go and tries to walk without help soon. I am predicting, however, that it will be another 2-3 months or so before she actually walks. She still prefers to army crawl, but will do a regular crawl every now and then. It makes me happy to at least know that she can regular crawl and she is just choosing to army crawl. I'm still pretty sure that she is saying, "dada" with purpose, and she is almost definitely saying, "dog" too. Her chatter is sounding more like the way people actually talk, so I'm thinking some real talking is right around the corner. As I said above, she really likes to smack her toys against other toys or the floor, and she also likes to put objects into other objects. She likes to drop things on to the floor, especially food for Huey. She has gotten really good at feeding herself...She feeds herself pretty much everything I give her, and the gag reflex has really eased up. YAY! She is drinking whole milk now...About 20-22 ounces a day, but still from a bottle. I have tried the sippy cup, and she completely refuses. I know I am going to have fight the battle soon, but I'm not quite ready yet. She now has 8 teeth, and they are REALLY crooked! I know they are just baby teeth, but I think braces are in her future! She is still wearing size 4 diapers, though we are going to move up to size 5 at night due to some leakage. She wears size 12-18 month clothes and size 4 shoes. She had her 12 month check-up on November 28th, and her weight is finally starting to plateau. She is really thinning out and starting to look like a toddler! She was 23 pounds, which is the 77th percentile. She was 30 inches long, which is 76th percentile. And her head circumference was 18 inches, which is 75th percentile...She is very proportionate!

Happy 13 months, Kylie Girl!

Kylie's 1 Year Photos!

I forgot to post that Kylie's 1 year photos are in...They are adorable! You can check them out at:www.racheleagle.com. Once on the site, click Clients. Her album passcode is kylie. When you enter, you'll see 3 albums: her newborn, her 8 month and her 1 year images. Click the 1 year album to see the new proofs. Let me know what you think!

Ortho Prom 2011

Jon and I at Chester's!

After I graduated from high school, I never thought I would go to another "prom" again. But that is kind of what Saturday felt like at The Orthopedic Department's Holiday Party. I think it is because we never get dolled up to go out anymore...Actually, we just never really go out anymore. I guess that is what happens after the babies start arriving! So, all of my girlfriends got babysitters (Thank you, Lindsay) and spent the afternoon getting ready together! We really got into our adult "prom." Not only did the girls get ready together, but the boys arrived together to pick us up, just like old times! :) We were only missing our corsages! Before the party, we went out for supper at Chester's...There were 15 of us and it was a blast! After supper, we went to the Holiday Party and mingled with the other residents, their spouses and the consultants. Following the party, we headed back to Chester's for drinks and more mingling! We did all of that and still made it home by 12:30am! Oh, what a night it was!!!

Some of the ladies: Melissa, Catherine, Sari, Rebecca, Me, Danielle, Anne

Little E's Baptism!

Jon, Kylie and me posing with Espen!

Last Sunday, our newest nephew, Espen, was baptized! (As a side note, I am adopting the nick name, Little E, for him. All three of my nephew's first names begin with the letter E, so baby Espen has become, "Little E!" :) Anyway, Little E and his family (Tony, Ingrid and Elias) live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, so we packed up on Saturday and headed west! On Saturday, we spent some time visiting with Jon's parents, brothers, and grandparents. We had a great time chatting and catching up. We also caught the end of the Badger game! They smoked Penn State and are headed to the Conference Championship! YAY! GOOOOO Badgers!

Then, Sunday morning was the baptism. It was a great service and Little E did fantastic! AND it was even more meaningful because Jon and I are honored to be Espen's godparents! After the baptism we headed back to Tony and Ingrid's place for a delicious homemade brunch! We ended the trip with a Barlow Family Photo Session! We were sad to say good-bye, but we are excited to see everyone again for Christmas in a few short weeks!

The Barlow Clan:
Jon, Kylie, me, Espen, Doug, Kriss, Greg, Ingrid, Elias and Tony

Espen's real parents and Godparents.
Esther and Bjorn (Ingrid's brother and sister-in-law), Ingrid, Tony, Espen, Jon and me!

Happy Baptism, Espen!

Birthday Party #2!

Kylie is so lucky! She got to have TWO birthday parties this year! She shared her second party with her friend, Ellasen, whose birthday is on November 21st. Ellasen turned 2 this year, so she is almost exactly a year older than Kylie. The girls chose an ice cream cone theme for this party and it was so darling! They had an ice cream cone cake and mini smash cakes to match. They wore ice cream cone onesies. All the decorations were neopolitan colors (pink, brown and white). There was an ice cream bar, in which everyone could create their own ice cream sundaes. We also served lasagna, garlic bread, caesar salad, cupcake cones, ice cream sandwiches, and the cake! Many of our friends were able to celebrate with us, which made us feel so special!!! We are richly blessed and we love each and every one of you! Thank you for helping to make Kylie's day special!

The food table...Check out the Ice Cream Cone Cake and Smash Cakes!
One scoop for Kylie! Two scoops for Ella!

Me and my Bean!

Kylie had no idea how to blow out her candle...Maybe next year! :)

She did enjoy her cake! She seems to be over the frosting fear!

Posing for pictures with her friends, Ellasen and Kinsley!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KYLIE!

Happy Birthday to my Kylie Bean!

One year ago, we got the biggest (and best) surprise of our lives. My water broke as I was teaching 8th grade boys's health, and 6 hours later our baby girl arrived. She was 8 weeks ahead of schedule! I still remember that day like is was yesterday...It was scary and amazing and crazy all at the same time. When I close my eyes and think about it, I can bring back all of the emotions, the conversations, the shock, and the way Kylie looked (pink and crying) when she made her arrival. I remember praying with Jon that she would be healthy and big (that one was answered). I remember calling Molly relentlessly with questions about what to do. I remember telling my parents that we were going to try to keep her in for a few days, and then calling back an hour later to tell them that she was actually coming that night. WOW! How was that a whole year ago!

Last year on this day, I had a 4 pound 13 ounce teeny baby. Today I have a 24 pound almost toddler! Last year, Kylie was in an incubator in the hospital for Thanksgiving and many days after that. This year, Kylie is a thriving, room-air breathing, big girl who gets to spend Thanksgiving at her Grandma and Grandpa Barlow's house. What a difference a year makes. Last year, Kylie was sleeping 22 hours a day. Well, I guess not everything has changed! Just kidding, she only sleeps 15-16 hours a day now! :)

At one year, Kylie is still a very happy, sweet girl. She loves army crawling around and exploring her environment. Her favorite place to crawl is onto the shelf under the coffee table. She really enjoys her new toys, especially her musical table and her Elmo doll! She enjoys hanging out with mommy and daddy and other little kids. She is a social baby. She is still an excellent eater and sleeper, which we really appreciate. Her favorite food right now is apple sauce! And she still sleeps with her bunny...She gets so excited when she see him!

Her biggest dislike right now is just not being able to communicate. Recently, she has gotten a little whiney, and I think it is because she wants to communicate her needs but doesn't know how. I'm trying to employ the ignoring technique, but I must say that I am failing miserably. I'll keep working on it!

Kylie has met a couple significant milestones in the past month. She has finally started pulling up to a stand! It's exciting for me, but I can tell it is exhausting for her...She is carrying around like 24 pounds on a short, little frame afterall. I imagine it would be similar to me trying to stand up from a laying position if I weighed 300 pounds. I think that would be hard. I am also convinced that Kylie is now saying actual words. Her favorite consonant sound is still "da," but I am pretty sure that she is saying "dada" with purpose now. She says it a lot more when Jon is home, AND she always says it when he walks in the door. I also think she said "dog" today, although it sounded more like, "dob." Huey barked, and Kylie said, "dob." I said, "Yes. Dog." She proceeded to say, "dob" three more times. I tried to get her to say it again later, but she ignored me so who really knows. But one can hope! She is still army crawling...And she claps, wiggles, clicks her tongue and smacks her lips on command. Her sleeping and eating schedules are basically the same as last month, although I have started to let her feed herself more often now. She likes to feed herself bread, puffs, bananas and mandarin oranges. She is getting much better at the sippy cup...We're going to switch one of her bottle feedings to a sippy cup feeding soon. She is also still wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 3 shoes, and size 4 diapers.

It's with mixed emotion that I say, "Happy 1st Birthday, Kylie Bean!" Jon and I have been blessed with a wonderful baby, and the best year of our lives! I hope next year goes more slowly than the last!