Thanks Nick!

Lately I've been worried about the amount of TV Kylee has been watching. We went from absolutely no TV at 1 year to....well, lets just say way too much at 2 years. While I still think we need to cut back, I have to admit, Nick Jr has taught her a thing or two. Thanks to Dora, Diego, and Kai-lan, Kylee's foreign language skills have taken off. Last week I had to practically tackle Kylee to put her pants on. Upon being tackled, Kylee exclaimed "Help! Help! Ayudeme! Ayudeme!" (help in Spanish). I laughed so hard I nearly lost her. Later that week when I gave her lunch, she said "xie xie Mommy" (thank you in Chinese). Yesterday Kylee told me "I love you mommy. I'm glad your my family." I can only assume I have Laurie Berkner to thank for that.

Speaking of language skills, here are a few of my favorite Kylee quotes from this week:

Grandma (as Kylee puts on her stethoscope): "Are you a Kylee doctor?" Kylee: "No. I'm YOUR doctor, grandma!"

To Gracie, who was whining to come inside "Cha ta mate (sp?) Gracie! Be patient!" (Chatamate = just a minute in Japanese)

After playing alone in her room for about 15 minutes "Mommy! I missed you. Let's play together."

First Dental Exam

Today Kylee had her first dentist appointment. I was expecting the worse, but it actually went really well. Kylee was super brave, the staff was great with her, and we got a clean bill of health! As soon as the hygienist called Kylee's name, Kylee jumped right up and went with her. She didn't even look back to make sure I was behind her. In fact, the hygienist actually had to tell Kylee to stop and wait for me a couple times! When we got to the exam room, Kylee climbed right into the chair. She even leaned back and opened her mouth!! Kylee was a little nervous about the buzzing toothbrush and as soon as she got a taste of the toothpaste (which she obviously did not like), she decided she was "all done". She closed her mouth and didn't let the hygienist brush her teeth. Even though she stopped cooperating, she didn't throw a fit and actually did it rather politely. She then told the hygienist she was ready to see the doctor. Kylee actually acted a little excited to see Dr. Jackson and have him count her teeth like he does Aunt Michelle's and Auntie Vickie's. She was a little reluctant when he came towards her mouth, but she opened anyways.
They didn't make me hold Kylee down (like I feared) or force her to do anything that she was uncomfortable with. They said they wanted to make sure her 1st dental experience was a good one. I really appreciated that. Dr. Jackson said that he doesn't see any signs of decay and that her top and bottom molars line up nicely. :)
Both the Dr. Jackson and the hygienist commented on how friendly and well behaved Kylee was and were impressed with how much she talked with them for having just turned 2. I was so proud of her!

We stopped at High Tech on our way home so that Kylee could show grandma the bracelet she picked out for being such a big girl. While we were there, she told grandma she needed to go pee in the potty. She took grandma's hand, led her to the bathroom, and sure enough, she went!

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. Kylee gave daddy a heart shaped valentine that she made at a playdate earlier this week. She also helped me make him a special Oreo cheesecake pie. She was pretty excited about getting to help with the electric mixer, but was otherwise more interested in tasting all the ingredients than in doing her usual stirring and dumping jobs. She tasted cream cheese for the first time, and lets just say she's a BIG fan.

The whole family had a lazy day at home. Robert picked up Popeye's for lunch and also got Kylee a slim jim (her favorite treat) while he was out. I let her keep her new Barney movie on repeat, and she watched it on and off throughout the day. At one point she was lounged back in her chair at table holding her slim Jim in one hand and eating pie in the other. I asked her if she was having a good day. She responded "yeah! I'm eatin' pie and chillin' and watching Barney ALL DAY!" I've never heard her use to term "chillin" before, but it was very appropriate (and funny).

Potty Progress

Since dropping our 'official' potty training attempts, Kylee has shown some promising signs on her own. A few days ago when she woke up from her nap, she walked into the bathroom and said she needed to go peepee on the potty. Sure enough, she did it! I think hanging out at Charli's house a few days last week and seeing Charli successfully use the potty really helped. Like Charli, Kylee prefers to use the big potty instead of her potty chair.

The past few days, as long as she doesn't have pants on, she's been taking off her diaper whenever its wet and has been holding it whenever she doesn't have a diaper on. She's also been asking for a diaper when she needs to poop. I'm really glad she is making some progress on her own. It may be slow progress, but I'll take what we can get! I think we are going to continue this laissez-faire approach for awhile. She seems to be a lot more open to using the potty when its her idea instead of mine.

UPDATE (Feb 15, 2010): She did it again. She told me she needed to go pee pee in the big potty, and she did it! Yay Kylee!!

So Loved!

Even though I didn't do much for Valentine's Day this year, Kylee made out pretty good. She got new books from grandma last week. Friday she got a Valentine's goody bag from Charli with bracelets, bubbles, stickers, and chocolate. Saturday we met the Martin family at Golden Corral for lunch. Kylee got a pink dragon and a box of chocolates from Ethan. Sunday I gave her a Barney dvd that had been saving.

1 to 1 Correspondence

Kylee has been able to count to 11 (sometimes 12) for a little while, but until now, it has just been rote counting. Last night she took one of her counting books off the shelf and counted "1, 2, 3. 3 fish!" This time she counted each time she pointed to a fish and only when she pointed to a fish. She was right; there were 3 fish! She turned the page a successfully counted 4 hats and then 5 umbrellas. I'm so proud!

Rhyme Time

I FINALLY got video clips of Kylee singing a few of her favorite nursery rhymes. I couldn't get them to upload here, but uploaded them to our online photo album. You can view them at: http://amandapuccino.myphotoalbum.com

Snow Day

This afternoon after we got back from getting her bangs trimmed, I let Kylee play in the snow.

She was so excited!

She loved stomping in circles.

I told her to stop picking up the snow and eating it and....

...this was her solution.

Catching snow on her tongue.

after coming inside to warm up

A Few Photos

Sorry for the update overload. My computer has been acting kind of screwy lately. I've been rushing to get everything posted in case it decides to crash. On that note, here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

playing on Amaya's bed

This is why she can't go unsupervised longer than 30 seconds.

helping daddy exercise

cheese!

holding baby Kate

practicing her big sister skills

The Big Freeze

A couple weeks ago, we were hit by a crazy ice storm. Just about the entire county lost power at some point, and the local schools were closed for a week. Our house was one of the first to loose electricity. Luckily, it was also among the quickest to get it back. We escaped to Kylee's grandpa's house for a few hours to stay warm, and by that evening our power was back on. Just as ours came back, grandpa's went out. So, he and Tony came back to our house with us and stayed the night. The next day the Martin family (Tara, Shad, Ethan, and baby Hunter) and the Long family (Angie, Bob, Meadow, Lily, and baby Sage) joined us. Kylee was pretty excited about all the company. By that night all of our guests had power again and were able to return home. We were all very fortunate. Several families that we know were without power for over a week and a few even lost water for a day or two!

drawing "snakes" just before the electricity went out

continuing her art at grandpa's house

Zoey eating the ice off the tree. She LOVED the ice and the snow!

The ice did quite a # on the trees in town. So sad!

The ice was super thick! (photo courtesy of Vickie)

This seems to have been the craziest winter Lawton has ever seen. I am so ready for it be over!

Success!

Kylee reached two major milestones this weekend. She pooped in the potty for the first time, and she put her pants on all by herself!! I am very proud of her accomplishments! She is far from being potty trained or being able to dress herself, but she is definitely on the right track.

Fish Facts

A few days ago I told Kylee we were going to Wal-mart to buy groceries and see the fish. Here is the conversation that followed:

Kylee: "Fish swim."
Me: "You're right. Fish swim in the water."
Kylee: "Fish live in the ocean."
Me: "Yes. Fish live in the ocean. You're so smart!"
Kylee: "I like fish. I watch fish swim. You can't touch. Fish live in the ocean and eat fish food. They swim in the ocean with whales. Fish have tails."


I had no idea she knew so much about fish! I guess she is destined to be a marine life nerd. When we met, Robert and I were both set on becoming marine biologists. :)
A couple months ago Kylee found one of Robert's old shark books. After looking at the book with him just a few times, she was able to identify hammerhead sharks, white tip sharks, and a wobbegong all on her own! She may not have all her colors and shapes down yet, but she definitely has an impressive vocabulary when it comes to animals.

Potty Time

DISCLAIMER: This post is rather boring and contains information that may be considered TMI to many readers. It is more of a for-the-record/baby book/progress chart type post than a for-people-to-read post. Anyways... here are the notes from our first potty training attempt:

Friday the Potty Power video I ordered Kylee came in. She was super excited and wanted to watch it right away. She actually sat and watched the whole video 3 1/2 times in row! That's quite a bit longer than she's ever sat for anything. Since she was so into the video and has been showing some signs of potty readiness (telling me before she poops, asking for new diapers when hers are wet, etc), I decided to give the potty training thing a go. Here is her progress so far:

Day 1 (Saturday): She went naked booty most of the day. As long as she was naked, she didn't go (on the potty or the floor), but as soon as I put anything on her (didn't matter if it was a diaper or panties), she peed.
Day 2: Sunday seemed very promising. I took her diaper off as soon as she woke up. She went naked for awhile and pooped in her potty! :) I put panties on her after that. She didn't pee or poop in the potty any more that day, but she was obviously making an effort to hold it and was able to keep her panties dry most the day. Any time her panties got even the slightest bit wet, she asked for new ones. Grandma came over for dinner and brought Kylee a surprise (a Spot book) for using the potty for the first time.
Day 3: Back to square 1. I took her diaper off when she woke up and tried to get her to poop in the potty (this seems to be her usual poop time). She said she was going to go so that she could show daddy (he was gone to drill on Sunday and missed the big event), but only sat for about a minute before asking for a diaper. I diverted her attention (so as not to have to put a diaper on) and let her go naked for awhile until company came over. She wore panties the rest of the day and peed and pooped in them as she would a diaper. She wasn't interested in the potty at all and seemed to be making no effort to stay dry. If she wet herself in front of me, she immediately said "Uh -oh. It's ok. Mommy clean it." If she wet herself in another room, she just continued playing like nothing happened. She didn't care at all to be changed. I eventually put a diaper on her.

It seems like she is getting there, but is not quite ready yet. I'm going to drop the subject for awhile and, unless she shows interest on her own before then, try again in a few weeks.

Two Year Old Pics by Traci

A couple weeks ago my friend, Traci, met us at the wildlife refuge. While we were there, she took some awesome pictures of Kylee.