Family Vacation

I am sorry I am finally getting around to posting about our vacation in September. We flew out to New Jersey to visit my relatives and go to the beach. Kylie did great on the plane- only a few temper tantrums when we had to put the dvd player away to land. She also got a little antsy while we sat for an hour on the runway on our way out. But who wouldn't? I was about to throw a tantrum myself by the time we took off. We made it to Newark though and got the rental car with my dad and off to grandma's. This was the first time my grandpa was going to meet Kylie. This was the second for my grandma but it may as well have been the first for her. Their town always has a Labor Day parade that we went to when we were little every year. We were also in it one time, and dressed in traditional Polish costumes and road the float of the Polish Home. So I am glad Kylie got to experience it (not that she'll really remember it, but I will!). Kylie did great during that and was a champ for her nap that afternoon- a little trouble getting her to fall asleep but she did and it was fine. She did great sleeping in the hotel room with us too- except in the mornings she'd see us right when she woke up and would pop her little head over the top of her bed and stare at us.

The beach was awesome! It was at Avalon, the beach we always went to when we were little. Kylie did wonderful- she loved the ocean. She would only go in if she went in herself. She wouldn't let us set her down in the water, or hold her hand and walk in. She had to do it all by herself. Of course when a big wave came and knocked her down, THEN she wanted us to hold her hand ;) She also liked it when we carried her out to the waves up to our waists. Grandpa and Daddy did this mostly and they all had a blast. She loved playing in the sand, and got up the courage to eat it on the last day. She learned how to make a seagull sound and when we asked what a seagull said, she'd say, "aaah aaah!" I am so glad her first time at the beach got to be at Avalon, where my first time was. She was so great the whole time, and I just can't wait for her to have little cousins to go with in the future.

New Pics

Here are some gorgeous pics Will's mom took of Kylie the other day. I think we are going to get some in 8x10's and frame them.

Kylie is doing great. She has a box that you fit different shaped blocks into the same shaped openings and she is learning how to do that. She knows the block goes in one of the holes and if I point to it she'll try to put the right one in. I have to guide it but she still knows thats where it goes. No more words yet but she will immitate sounds. If I have a doggie in my hands and I say, a doggie goes woof woof, she'll do a little sound that sounds more like a monkey but I think she is trying. She knows Maverick if I say, where's maverick? She'll look around for him and point sometimes. Speaking of, he has been doing a lot better with her. No more snapping- he actually licks her now. He is still having problems with the bathroom issue, but we have a super long leash that we tie him to the coffee table with and it seems to help. We have an appointment tomorrow at the vet to discuss possible anti-anxiety meds. His barking is getting worse now that he's more comfortable be back with us. Maybe medication will help with his anxiety.

We are all done with the bottles :( SHe doesn't mind one bit. I thought she might put up a fuss before bed but she didn't care at all! She gets a sippy cup with milk after she gets her pjs on and we read while she drinks that. Then she brushes her teeth and I lay her down and she goes to sleep. I think I was more upset about giving up that nighttime bottle than her! But we can still cuddle while we read and she gets her cup. Our little baby is not so much a baby anymore. But I am excited to see how she's going to grow up!

Happy Birthday Kylie!

One year ago today at 9:01 am Kylie was born. I can't believe a whole year has passed. She is such a big girl now- its hard to imagine her as a little newborn. We just had her 1 year check up and she weighs 19 1/2 pounds, and is 29 1/2 inches tall. Her percentage is quite a change from when she was born. She is now 25-50% for weight and 50-75% for height.

She is an old pro at walking, and actually runs now! She can throw and kick a ball, and climb stairs. She can almost climb up on the couch by herself and she can get down by herself (when she isn't launching herself off head first). We are almost completely off the bottle- just one at night. Now we are transitioning from formula to whole milk. She is doing good with it- the most challenging part is the cold milk versus the room temp formula she gets now. But she is doing great at it.

We had her birthday party on Sunday. She was developing pink eye during it, so when cake time rolled around she was pretty cranky. She didn't like it on her hands, and didn't like the taste of it. She had never really had any sugar like that before. She ended up rubbing it in her eyes and then that really set her off. But after a bath and some cheese and fruit she was fine again.

She LOVES to go outside and pitches a fit if she sees you go out without her. She constantly wants to be outside. We've had Maverick for the past couple of weeks (he is currently living with the in-laws because of snapping and bathroom issues with Kylie) and she loves playing with him. They chase each other around the house and she just cracks up at him.

I didn't realize how much love you could have for a child until I experienced it. Our love for her grows every day, and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful, happy little girl. She is a firecracker- she's got her daddy's personality so she is so outgoing and fearless. 1 year has gone by so fast- I can't imagine how fast the next 18 or even 50 will go! We try to cherish every moment with her- she won't be tiny and cuddly forever.

I will try to keep up with the blog, but it may taper off after a while. I will record big moments and try to post pics and all on here. So keep checking back! Thanks for all the support we have had the past year to all of you who love and care for Kylie. We couldn't have done it without all of you, and I know we will still need your love and support over the next few years.

Our Little Walker

So Kylie is officially a walker now! She walks more than she crawls. She loves to take her little push walker outside and push it around on the sidewalk. I don't have any pics of that yet, but I will get those up soon. She loves walking!

She just went up to the grandparents for the weekend to stay a couple days by herself. Its our anniversary so we thought it'd be nice for her to go up there a couple days for a vacation. We will miss her but it will be a great time for us to recouperate.
She is doing great with eating- she refuses to let us feed her anything. She has to do it on her own. So no more mushy baby food!

She has four teeth on top now, and still the two on the bottom. She is getting one in next to the bottom ones, and we think that may be waking her up at night. She woke up a couple times in the middle of the night last night. But she always just goes right back to sleep.

She now knows how to talk on a cell phone! I am not kidding. She has a couple of old ones that are her own, and when she picks it up she hands it to me. Then I put it to my ear and say "hello?". She then puts it to her ear and says "Oh?". Yep, she is a genius. Sometimes she will do it without me having to do it first. She also picks up my sunglasses and tries to put them on her face becasue she knows mommy puts them on her face.

I can't believe she is almost a year old. Where did the time go?? Oh, and here is a little blackmail for the kiddies when they get older.

First Steps!

Kylie took her first step on April 29 (last saturday!) The past two weeks, she has been getting up to a standing position from the floor all by herself without pulling up on anything. So we have been trying to encourage her to walk towards us when she does that. Well she finally did on Saturday! Now every day she walks a little farther. Today we are up to about 5 or 6 steps towards us. She is so proud of herself too.

Her new favorite food is Salmon. She devours it. She is doing a lot better with table foods like cut up carrots and beans. She even pushes away her mushy food sometimes. So we are getting closer to cutting out the baby food soon.

We are all moved into our new place, and she seems fine with it. It hasn't seemed to bother her at all. She is sleeping fine and her schedule is the same. She loves the carpet and just zooms all over it. She has gotten either a little cold or allergies the past few days but it doesn't seem too bad. Just some coughing, and the dr said her throat was a little swollen, but its not strep so thats good.

Sorry no pictures of her walking yet- I need to charge the batteries. But I will get them up as soon as I can!