All things Kylie

Okay, so now that I have completely all my posts about our trip to Ohio, I need to get caught up on well... All things Kylie.



I try to keep a notepad by the computer so I can keep track of things, but then I forget or Kylie finds it and tears off the pages and well I just can't seem to keep up. I can't necessarily say that is a bad thing....it is really something great! I'm thrilled that Kylie is doing so much and so many new things that I am having trouble keeping track of it all :)



In no particular order, because I can't seem to remember what happened first...here goes:



Songs and Dancing

Now there is a chance I blogged about this from our Ohio trip, but I can't recall and well, I'm just too lazy to go back through and check :)



Anyhow, sometime when we were in Ohio Kylie was trying to do Pat-a-Cake with me. When I would say "pat it" and then do the motion for it, she would try to do it, and then the same with "roll it" and so on. It was so cute, but of course she stopped doing it with me once we got the video camera out. Camera shy I suppose.



She also does some of the moves for one of our favorite Funky Mama songs, Down Down Baby, and lately she has been on a Funky Mama craze. Whenever we are in the kitchen, she will let me know that she wants her music on, so I play her CD and we just dance away...love it!



But yeah, tonight she was doing a great job with Pat-a-Cake and was remembering what to do, and not just waiting for me to lead her through it! How is it that we are so blessed with this amazing little girl?



Not only does Kylie loved to dance around, she has definitely found a love for Jumping! She even gets off the ground a little and it is cute to see her hopping all around.



Her latest jumping fest has been her trying to jump off the couch....yep, something that definitely makes us cringe, but she just keeps trying to do it. Don't worry, after she did it the first time, we were quick to pad her landing zone with some pillows. Then today, she tried jumping off the steps when she was two steps up....before we know it she will jumping out of her crib.



Chatter box

Back in February, when Kylie first had her speech evaluation, the speech path gave us 4 sheets that describe Speech and Language for children with varying age ranges. I had posted it on our fridge and would happily check off the things that Kylie was doing.




I think it was just before we went to Ohio or maybe even when we got back, but I was so excited to see that I was able to finally check off the last couple things on 2 of the 4 sheets! She has really come a long way in what seems like such a short time.



So that leaves us with 3 things to check off on the sheet for the 18 month old, and then most of the sheet for the 2 yr old. Yay for Kylie!



In addition to that, she is just adding more words all the time...and I am a bad mom for not keeping track as well as I used to. I am going to try and blame it on the trip to Ohio...there was just so much other new stuff going on that I struggled to keep up with all....how's that for a good excuse :)

She has really taken off with just jabbering and talking in her own little language. She is pretty much talking all the time, and the last couple of days she has really tried to repeat the words that we say to her. It is really exciting to hear so much more of her little voice!



The most exciting news about her talking and all of that is she has progressed so quickly with expanding her vocabulary that today ended up being her last day of Speech Therapy through the hospital! Kylie's speech path gave us her email, so that if anything comes up or if we have questions, we can contact her.



Mommy's Little Helper

Kylie has become more curious about pretty much everything and she is not really as hesitant as she used to be when it came to exploring new things. With that said, it is safe to say that she loves to be a part of everything we are doing, and it is fun for us to show her ways that she can help.

For some time, Kylie was pretty much terrified of the vacuum cleaner and would just meltdown if she saw me get it out or if I ever tried to vacuum. So I had to either vacuum while she was asleep or when Matt was around, so he could keep her occupied.

I am happy to say that Kylie is overcoming her fears of the loud machine and has even tried to help me. You see, I took the vacuum upstairs and she started to get upset, so I asked her to help me. She was nervous but wanted to and then didn't want to, and then wanted to :) She had fun trying to push it around and did not want to give it back to me! She definitely prefers the little handheld one, because it isn't as loud and is more her size.

I got some fresh green beans the other day, and I thought it would be a great thing for Kylie to help me with. After washing them off, I put the bowl of beans, a small trash bowl, and then the pot to cook them in on the floor. I then showed Kylie how to break the beans in half and to throw them in the pot. After I snapped off the ends and sorting through them, I would quickly pass them off to Kylie and she would snap them in half and throw them in the pot.

Sorry, no pics of this, but she loved helping and I'm no therapist, but I'm guessing it was good for some fine motor skills with her holding the beans the right way and trying to snap them in half.

Then the next day I was working on a dessert to take with us for our dinner with the neighbors and I had Kylie help me with that too :) I was making dirt cake, so I had Kylie drop the cookies into the food processor and then I let her push the button to grind them up. I was worried the noise would make her stressed, but I was sure to just hold it for a couple seconds the first time and then I laughed at how funny it was to see them get all chopped up....that really helped her adjust to the new sound.

Sensory stuff

I was cleaning out the hall closet a few days ago, and I came across one of those foot spa things, to soak your feet in. I figured I would just put it in the basement and add it to the giant stack of things to donate or garage sale. Anyway, Kylie decided to see what I was doing, and tried to stand in it. I was really shocked because the bottom of it is all bumpy and pokey-like.

So instead of putting it in the basement, I decided to set it aside for a bit of sensory therapy. I have heard many times that it is good to have little ones barefoot, and let them feel different textures on their feet to help with sensory development. I laid down some towels, because well....Kylie loves water and I figured some would be lost if we were trying to do some play therapy. I filled up the foot spa with some warm water and then I turned it on and let Kylie see the bubbles come up....of course, more giggles from me to help ease her into the new sounds she was hearing the new experience.

Kylie had fun turning it on and off and then trying to touch the bubbles that popped up when it was turned on. She wasn't so interested in putting her feet in it when it was turned on, so I did it to model that it was okay and kinda fun to have the bubbles tickle your feet and rub them on the bumpy bottom. Before I knew it, Kylie was trying to stick her feet in with mine. Once I took my feet out she kept hers in and started signing and trying to say "bath" and then she tried to sit in it. She is so cute and silly!

This next step with her sensory development had me soooo excited! Our super neighbors had given us some muffins, and Kylie was definitely interested in trying one. I gave her one later that day, and to my surprise she picked it up off of her plate and then mushed it in her hand. I seriously could not believe what I was seeing...Kylie does not like anything messy and gets upset when there is something on her hands, even water.

Of course, I ran downstairs and grabbed the camera and just started snapping away. It was cute to see some of the faces she was making, and how she kept doing it. She was definitely interested in how it felt and how she could mash it with her hands. She also picked up some of the pieces to eat. I'm sure she was amazed that she could play with her food and eat it too.

I never thought I would be excited for my child to play with her food and to want her to make messes. I'm more amazed at how well I am dealing with it....we are both growing together in all of this. Who knew there was more for me to learn in this life :) Just kidding, I know I have a long ways to go...just never thought someone so little could teach me so much about myself and how I now view things in life. She has already changed the hearts of so many...I just know she is destined for greater things :)