Happy Birthday Daddy

Kylie has been super excited for daddy's birthday since I first mentioned it over a week ago. All she knows is that it involves cake, presents and balloons and she's all about it!

This morning we went to the store and got daddy a white cake with raspberry filling (his request) and some balloons (which are "watching" Go Diego Go with Kylie right now- she hasn't let them go; not sure they are gonna live long enough for daddy to see them when he gets home tonight)!

She's been practicing the Happy Birthday song all day... I think it's a pretty cute rendition!

We love you Daddy! Hope you have a great birthday!!!

2 going on 16.

Hopefully, this isn't a sign that our second half of year 2 is going to be drastically different than the first... but little miss 2 1/2 year old has been little miss sassy pants the last week or so.

The majority of our day is filled with these two sentences...

"Me do dit!" and "That's mines!"

Today, she sneezed and I said, "Bless you, Kylie"... rather than a nice "tank you mommy" that her old 2 year old self would have offered, I received a disgruntled, "NO mommy, me say bless you!"  Niiiiice.

Let's hope it's a phase... a really quick phase. Like 2 weeks.

It's a good thing she's so stinkin' cute. Here are a few pics of her finger painting tonight. Thanks to grandma Pat for the fun finger paint- she always comes bearing gifts/entertainment tools!

30 months.

Is it really possible that this little girl:

Is already 2 1/2 years old?!?!?

Even though it's hard to imagine that our little baby is this old, at the same time, it's even harder to remember life without her. She has filled our home, the last 2 1/2 years, with more joy, happiness, laughter and love than we could have ever dreamed possible.

We are so proud of the little girl that she has become and can't wait to see her take on her new role of big sister!

At 2 1/2 years:

She is SO happy, plain and simple, we say it all the time but she really she is such a pleasant little thing * She's Hilarious! She has such a goofy personality * She loves to have a good time & has a killer belly laugh! * Has such good manners- always says please and thank you and has started saying "you welcome"... and "bess you" when you sneeze or cough * Is very lovey-dovey... always game for giving kisses and big hugs... always says "I la you too" * Becoming so independent- loves her big girl bed- loves walking into stores by herself now (no more holding) * A smart little cookie - can count to 10 (and to 20 with only a few little mistakes) - can count to 10 in Spanish (this was a surprise to us until the other day... we have to thank Dora for this lesson) - knows all her colors (and I could listen to her say "pu-pal" (purple) over & over!)- sings her ABC's - sings Twinkle Twinkle and You Are My Sunshine (as well as many of "her songs" on her CD/ iPod playlist * Loves music & is obsessed with the iPod, asks the name of every song ("what's this song?") * Still loves books and can recite a few by herself. (The Foot Book, The Going to Bed Book) * Loves stuffed animals- has a little posse of animals that she carries everywhere * Carmen is still her best, best buddy * Is obsessed with colors- she tells us what color everything is, and then proceeds to tell you something else that is also that color * Loves the color blue right now and prefers when daddy wears a blue shirt * Speaking of clothes preferences for daddy... she "helps" him get dressed into casual clothes when he gets home from work everyday by telling him what color shirt he must wear that day! * Loves to help mommy in the kitchen- everytime I'm in there, she says "mommy, what you makin'?" and starts dragging the chair over to help. * Has a crazy good memory and is extremely observant- doesn't miss a thing (just like daddy) * Loves her morning shows- Little Bear, Dora The Explorer (and now Go Diego Go) and The Wiggles. Also a big fan of Shrek the movie* Still has a bashful side with strangers, it takes her a few minutes to warm up * Still a great eater - Panera is her favorite place to eat (she LOVES broccoli cheddar soup). Loves making and eating smoothies. She's also on a frozen fruit ( esp. raspberry) kick. Loves her milk and "appie juice" * Still very much attached to her blankie and unfortunately binkie (although that is bound to the house) * Loves to play outside and go to the park. * In general, she just loves being a 2.5 year old and is pretty darn good at it!

Flashback Friday.

In honor of the 1st day of Spring (YAY!)... a fun little flashback.

Kylie one year ago, at 18 months old!

 (Kylie thinks) "Hmmm, wonder what I will be up to at this time next year??"

You will be making us laugh and fall more and more in love with you every day, sweet pea!

Heat wave.

It has been SO incredibly wonderful to be able to get outside the last week or two (without bundling up for 10 minutes first).

Yesterday we spent almost all of our awake time playing outside, and it was glorious!

Here are some quick snaps of Kylie getting re-acclimated with the great outdoors, while I got re-acclimated with my 3rd appendage (my camera!). This winter my camera was quite neglected; the cold weather combined with no sunlight left me a little uninspired. 

However, I'm ready to jump back in full force... I have a little polishing up to do before victim #2 arrives!

Gym Class.

Picture Post.

Playing with Grandma Lori this past weekend...

And, playing with Play-doh tonight... don't you play with play-doh in your rhinestone shades and beaded necklaces??

Somebody likes the camera... a lot! Who does this remind you of?

And just for fun... a photo of Matt from the dungeon (don't pity him; I slip him some bread and water every few hours, but he's on a deadline, people.)

Lastly, I hesitantly offer you this photo of me and little dude at 34 weeks.

Kids say the darndest things.

Kylie has had a word explosion. Her vocabulary and language skills have improved by leaps and bounds in the last few weeks! Matt and I keep commenting to each other that it seems like she has grown up so much in the past 2 weeks. It's crazy! And a little scary, too (where's my baby girl going?!). She has such an enthusiastic and happy personality and a great sense of humor, too. She is constantly cracking us up with the things she says.

One of my favorite things that she has been doing for some months now is responding "I la (love) you too" when we tell her we love her. Well, today at the grocery store, I said "I love you, Kylie Rae" and she looked right in my eyes and said, "I la you, too Mommy Rae"... awwww :) 

It doesn't get better than that.

Stay tuned for more "Flip" videos coming soon!

So flippin' fun.

I've had my eye on this little gadget for a few months now and when it went on sale on Amazon the other day, I had to snatch it up. Boy am I glad I did. It's a Flip video camera and the size and ease of use makes it so incredibly fun for capturing the little parts of our day that wouldn't normally be videotaped. 

Kylie has become a huge fan of this little guy... it's easy to hold and easy to use (you just push one little red button to record), so she thinks she should be the one to videotape at all times! Which makes for a lot of videos of Kylie running towards the camera saying "me do it, me do it!"

Yesterday, she grabbed it off the table and proceeded to make a little movie. Check out her masterpiece below!