the beginning of something great

Kylie has made great friends with one of her Kindermusik classmates, and I love how much they enjoy the playdates we've had over the past few weeks.



Kylie lights up when I tell her that we are going to meet him at the library or park or wherever. His mom tells us that he does the same thing too. I think it is great that she is beginning to make little friends and recognize them when we see them outside of class. I think it is important for her to feel comfortable around more people, and I hope that makes things easier for her when we are out and about.



Kylie has been doing amazingly well at giving hugs and kisses and high fives to her friends when we say goodbye to head home. It is so sweet, and makes me teary when I see it. I've even been doing the "ooohhhs and awwwws" when I see her do these precious things.



During one of our most recent playdates, I was able to capture a couple of these moments on my cell phone. Just look how cute they are together!



Sharing some snacks at the park.

The sweetest, most precious little kiss goodbye! (It took 3 kisses until I was able to get this shot)

Can't Touch This...Oh, Yes I Can!

Sometimes we make a stop on our way home from church on Sundays to get a donut...part treat and part sensory therapy for Kylie.

Our most recent donut experience was completely different from past ones. Just take a look for yourself:

It wasn't until after she had a couple bites where she realized she had some stickyness on her hands. She was okay to wipe her hands on her clothes to clean them, but I tried to stop that and h

Some days I never thought she would learn to be okay with touching something like that. I love how she is showing me all the more she can do...all the time!

Just look at how beautiful and happy she looks!

She is such a big girl and has overcome so much...makes me teary to even type about it. Love, love her so very much!

I Need To Go

Kylie has been doing absolutely great about going on the potty lately. We couldn't be more proud of her!

This last few times she has successfully gone in the potty was after she told us (either by signing or saying potty) that she needed to go. Wow, we never expected her to communicate this to us so soon after going on the potty.

Pretty much every time we put her on the potty she goes. So either she always has to go potty, or she is really getting the hang of it. I think she is getting this all figured out, and enjoys the cheers from us, and her rewards for going...candy and a sticker.

I recently cashed in some of my Pampers Rewards to get Kylie a Dora potty seat. It arrived in the mail yesterday and Kylie was super excited to receive a surprise from the mailman. She was all smiles as we opened the box and she got a glimpse of Dora.

Yesterday marked the first day that she used her potty seat on the big potty and she had success....not once but Twice!

All things Kylie

So it has been a little while since I have posted...sorry, I have been a little busy. Here is a peek at what has kept me away from the computer recently.





Yep, I have been getting crafty with making flower pins and hair clips. I had no idea they would be so labor intensive, but they are simply adorable and I love making them :)

Okay, so let's get to all things Kylie :)

She is just the cutest, sweetest, silliest, most amazing little girl! I know I saw those things a lot, but only because they are true!


Icky, Sticky Situations

She has started to be okay with things that are sticky and goeey, and just plain old messy. I know, I should be celebrating more, but I am really cringing inside. I don't think I can handle her being an icky, sticky little girl. Or that I will be cleaning up more things, and doing more laundry, and just wow...having to come outside of my comfort zone and be okay with these things.

We had taken a trip to the DQ with our neighbors and Kylie likes to eat her cone from the bottom most times, which obviously causes more opportunities for leakage and sticky gooeyness. When it got all over her hands, she didn't seem to mind one bit.

I, on the other hand, was thinking this is going to be soooo messy, and maybe we should just take the ice cream away from her. Of course that would have then made for a sticky, and very unhappy Kylie....so I let her finish it.

Oh, and lately she has been taking care of her own icky hands and fingers....she just wipes them on her clothes. Ahhh...yes, more laundry. She went from getting so upset with even water on her hands and freaking out, to just showing me her hands and fussing for me to clean them, to now taking matters into her own hands and using her clothes as a wash cloth.

The other thing that means for me, aside from more laundry...is me being all panic-like and trying to get to her hands before she wipes them on herself. Where is the therapy for me to get used to this?

Baring it all

A post or two ago, I blogged about Kylie going on the potty. I can happily report that she has gone pee pee 11 times now! Yay for Kylie :) The best part is that she is getting excited about it now. She cheers for herself and then stands up and looks at what she has just done. It is so funny and cute.

Oh, the baring it part is that she has to be completely naked when she sits on the potty. No idea why, but she just does. Hey, as long as she goes I am fine with it...for now anyhow :)

A few days ago Kylie had started not wanting to go on the potty, so I told her that I would get her new books to read if she sat on the potty. So far it is working. I just sit her on the potty...naked and all, and then tell her I am going to get her a new book to read. They are just old books I put in her closet that she hasn't seen for a while.

And while I am looking for a new book, I hear Kylie say Ewww...and then Pee Pee, and she starts cheering. For some reason, she is more comfortable going potty when I leave the room. I'd call it being modes, except for the fact that she is naked. So I suppose it just means she wants her privacy :)

Kisses and Cuddles

I think it was last Tuesday when Kylie got her first kiss! So young I know :) We have had a few playdates with one of Kylie's classmates from Kindermusik and when we were leaving, he gave her a hug and a kiss. Now she was trying to get away from him, but it was so cute and her little friend is so sweet. She did try to reach her hands out to hug him, but then retracted....so close though!

Apparently all the hugs she has been receiving from her little friend have helped her. We had a playdate yesterday with another little friend from her class, and Kylie gave the little girl a handful of hugs and high fives as we were getting ready to leave. I was soooo excited, because this is the first time she has initiated a hug with a little friend. And then she gave the mom a hug too! Amazing!

Rainbow of Colors

We are fairly certain Kylie knows most of her colors already. Sometimes you have to ask her twice, because she likes to be silly. There were a few days where she kept saying that everything was yellow. As far as we know she knows the following colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, black, white, and sometimes purple.

Dancing in the Rain

We had an umbrella opened up in the garage...drying it out from some recent rain we received. Kylie grabbed it and started saying rain. She started dancing around the driveway and turning it all around and playing with it. It was so cute, that I had to run in and grab the camera.

How cute would it have been if it was raining and she was playing in it! Only a matter of time I'm sure :)

Girly girl

I'm not sure Kylie will be the girly girl type, but she does have her moments. Matt's friend Branden recently went to Italy and he brought her back this adorable little purse. When he gave it to her, her face just lit up and she was uber excited!

The cutest is how she usually holds it. She puts it all the way up her arm and sticks out her arm to hold it up...adorable! She was playing with it outside, just before playing with the umbrella but wouldn't hold it when I tried to take a pic.

This is the best I got...when she was carrying it to go set it down and grab the umbrella.

Tootsies

For some reason, Kylie does not really like to wear shoes. Most times when we leave the house, we just take her shoes with us and put them on her when we get to wherever we are going. That saves us from having to find where she tossed them in the car, and from repeating the process of putting her shoes on.

She has even taken her shoes off a couple times when she has been outside. This is very new for Kylie. She will walk around on the driveway very carefully. Today she walked into a small flowerbed by the garage with her bare feet. I was in shock...I couldn't believe she was doing this. That and the fact that this meant she would be dirty.....I'm just not used to all this. Oh, and she apparently sat in some dirt somewhere because her bottom was all dirty too.

Here are a couple pics I snapped of her in her bare feet this afternoon.

I know, she has a hammer and some screws....she was helping daddy. And yes, she was supervised the whole time :) One of the songs from her Kindermusik class this semester talks about the sounds of things around the house....a hammer goes rap, rap, rap. Needless to say she was excited to see a hammer and she kept saying rap, rap.

charting the seas

Tonight was a HUGE night for Kylie, which meant tears and happy cheers from mommy.


So what happened? Just take a minute and re-read the title of this post, and tell me what you are thinking.


Kylie went pee pee in the potty!


We have been sitting on the potty for close to 3 weeks or so now, and at least twice a day with no results. Tonight was a different story...a happy story.


Just like we have been doing, we went upstairs to sit on the potty and see if anything happened. Kylie said eww, which is what she says when she toots, but she didn't toot....not that I noticed anyway. I thought I should check to see if maybe, just maybe something happened in her potty.


Sure enough there was a little tinkle from Kylie. I screamed and cheered so loud that she looked a bit frightened and tried to reach for me, and get off the potty. I told her it was okay, and that I was so proud of her. I continued clapping and cheering, and reinforcing how great it was that she went pee pee.


It was really cute because, she started squealing pee pee, and cheering along with me!


I ran to get a notebook of stickers that I had purchased a few months ago....planning ahead for a sticker potty chart. I told her to pick one sticker, and this is the one she picked:

I needed to give her a little treat too, but we don't keep much candy or things like that in the house. I searched and found a bag of almond joy candy coated pieces, and she loved it! I was sure if she would like the, but she did and asked for more. I told her only when she goes potty, so she went to sit on the potty again and then approximated the word chocolate.


So cute, so awesome!

Now I need to get or make a chart for her every time she goes potty. Something I will enjoy working on. Oh my goodness, she is getting so big! Didn't we just bring her home from the hospital....almost two years ago, and it has gone by all too fast.

at least 74

I'm loving these last couple of posts with numbers in the title. I'm sure it's got you all wondering what the story is behind them :)



I think it was last Thursday or so, when I decided that I wanted to try and keep track of all the words Kylie says in a day. I didn't get through the whole day...not even half of the day, before throwing in the towel on that idea. Just see below.


You see, I think she somehow knew that I was trying to do something like this, because she was like a little tornado that day. I couldn't even tell you how many things I picked up and put away. I seriously spent the whole first half of our day picking up after her. I never had to chase after her like this in our house or clean up so much....she has always been really good at putting things away. I guess something got into her and she was just on a mission to explore and scatter all of her newly found treasures.

Anyhow, when I realized I couldn't keep up with the little miss and my own word tracking project...I gave up. Once I added up all of the words I did get, I got a grand total of 74.

I knew she had more than what we originally thought, but I wouldn't have guessed it to be that high. Now, I'm thinking it has got to be a good amount over that, especially since I stopped tracking her words around 11:15 or so that morning.

Oh and to make it even more fun, later that afternoon I pulled out the flashcards with no prompting, and these are all the ones she named for me.






I know, the picture is sideways, no matter what I tried...it just would not work.

5 minutes

I think that is about how long I was in the nursery at church with Kylie today. I spent the remainder of the time with Matt in the service.

How awesome and big is she, that I got to attend service with her daddy while she did a great job in the nursery....correction, in the toddler room.

Yep, our little lady is becoming so big and brave and we are super proud of her!

wing and yide

We have been going to a park that is just a couple minutes away from our house. This is the same park where Kylie had her first fishing experience, and she just loves to go there!



For the most part it isn't too crowded when we go, so that is kind of nice. Kylie gets uncomfortable when there are a bunch of kids running around and being loud...you know, just kids playing.



We had taken her a few days ago and she should would hurry up the little ramp that leads to the slides when she saw some kids coming her way, and if she didn't get up it quick enough she would hurry back down, so their close presence and sounds weren't overwhelming her. Once again she has amazing coping skills for what gets to her. It was just tough for me to see her like a little ping pong ball running away from them one way, and then if they came from the other direction should would turn back and retreat. Poor thing...I think it made it hard for her to enjoy being there when she was so focused on having an escape plan.



Since the weather had been so beautiful, we have been making more trips to the park and playing outside. I wish the weather was like this year round...not too hot and not cold.

Here are some cell pics I got a week or two ago:

Here are some pics that we got last weekend.

Kylie's favorite place to be :)

Yay..going down the slide with mommy! Each time I tried to get her to go down with me, she would turn away...but this time we did it!

Kylie loves to swing, and then go down the slide and repeat again and again!

Kylie saw some bigger kids climbing around this wall, and she just had to do it too....with our help of course :)

Kylie quickly learned what it means to go to the park. She will happily say and sign wing (swing)and yide (slide) whenever we say that we are going to the park. I love how much she likes to swing. It wasn't her cup of tea when she was younger, but now she loves it! She gets upset whenever I tell her that we need to stop swinging and do something else, so as to give the other little ones a turn.

As you can see from all the pics, the park is our new home away from home, until the weather gets too cool, and then I have no idea what we will do.

something sweet

Just a few days ago we were at AB for dinner and I was kind of scared about the thought of ordering dessert. Lately the response from Kylie hasn't been a good one, and she gets so worked up and screams because she really wants it but can't have it....it becomes too much for her.


I'm guessing all the stars in the sky were aligned just right, because she didn't even hesitate and had her mouth wide open and ready to take a bite!


Most of you may never know what it means to have something like this to celebrate. I wouldn't consider this something that is taken for granted, just something that you don't have any issues with.


We were both so excited to see that Kylie was able to enjoy every single bite she ate, and eagerly wanted more :) At the same time I was sad, that my little girl can't enjoy these things often...like she should.


Today has been a pretty hard day for the two of us. We went to the library, where they were having "Walker Time." They do songs and a couple stories...it is for the little ones up to the age of 2 that like to run around and can't really sit through story after story. It's as if they had us in mind :)


Anyhow, just before that got started, I really wanted to find a book to read, and Kylie was doing a pretty good job at staying with me and then she was gone and I was terrified. From that point on I had to hold her...all kicking and fussing, because I like it when I can see her and I can function just a bit better when my heart hasn't stopped.


Next, was when we went into the room for Walker Time and Kylie kept trying to leave. Once things got started they shut the door...yay! She was just obviously uncomfortable, and fussing and squirming like she didn't want to be there. It wasn't overly crowded like some things are, but maybe it was because her escape route was closed off. It's tough because these are the very things that I need to keep exposing her to, but it is hard on my heart when I see how much stress it brings to her. Couple that with the wonderful looks other moms give you and I am ready to escape myself.


Then when I was preparing her lunch this afternoon, she communicated that she wanted pudding. I was scared to even try it, especially with how our day was already going. She got upset, and then I instantly put it away...out of sight out of mind, right? Ha, not with Kylie.


Not too much longer after that, she asked for it again so we tried it for the second time. I just handed it to her, thinking maybe she will want to just put her face in it like she has done before....nope, she asked for a spoon. It was sooooo very hard to see her go through this, but she eventually was able to work through it and eat it...yay for Kylie! She ate almost all of it too!


All I can say is that I am totally beat, and thinking a bowl of cereal sounds like all I can handle when it comes to cooking dinner tonight :)

mocking bird

So Kylie is amazing and the last few days have been really good days for her and I. It is really fun lately, because she is imitating so many things we say to her and ask her to repeat to us....you know, trying to stimulate more growth in her vocabulary and all.



Her recent favorite thing to say is hey. She doesn't just say it, she likes to yell it. I guess she got used to me saying it to her just before I would question what she was doing. Like the other day when I was brushing my teeth and didn't hear her playing anymore. I went to see what she was doing, and I was like "hey, what are doing?" She was putting on Matt's deodorant...she had just lifted up her dress to rub it on and ended up getting it on her tummy. I laughed after I smelled her tummy and realized yep...she definitely got some on herself.




I have been using flash cards a bit more often, and for a while she would sign what she saw on the cards, then point or find the cards the appropriate card when prompted to do so. This past week she would repeat the words on them when I would ask her to....it doesn't last for too long, because she already knows this isn't all play and some work is involved, so I try to cram in as many as I can :)




Anyhow, just a few days ago she amazed me even more. Instead of me asking her to repeat what I was saying, I just held up the cards and said what's this? Here are pics of all the cards that she responded to, either pronouncing them correctly or a pretty close approximation of them:

The next step is to get her to start using these words in her every day vocabulary....I know she can do it! To make it seem like it was more fun than work, I made sure to toss some in there that I knew she could already say very well...that would get her excited and ready to do more :) She is so smart, that I have to be sneaky sometimes.

There are days when I get pretty bummed out when Kylie has super sensory issues and can't stand to eat things that she loves, or just can't handle things when we are out. I think it is because she has done phenomenal in handling things, that we sometimes forget that things aren't always as smooth as we would like them to be for her.

The other day she was so excited to get some pudding, but completely melted down when I got it out and had a spoonful ready for her. It broke my heart...I think she just got so worked up and excited about it, that it suddenly became too much for her, and she couldn't eat it. I decided to set it aside and be super silly and try to calm her down and make her laugh...it worked too! I thought I would try to reintroduce it once she calmed down, and she had a spoonful in her mouth and then just let it fall back out of her mouth and down her clothes and onto the floor. She just wasn't ready to accept that kind of texture.

I did however learn something new the other day when her therapist and education coordinator came out to do her 6 month review. It is how much the change in weather and barometric pressure effect the intensity or severity of sensory issues. I mean, I always knew when the weather was changing or a storm was brewing that Kylie was extra fussy, but I never thought that it tied into her sensory issues. I'm so glad we have these people around to help us with Kylie and help us manage things as best we can!

Here is something that is pretty cute. Matt's mom brought some apple muffins over last weekend and this past week we enjoyed them for some snacks. One morning Kylie came to me and said muff...her way of asking for a muffin. I put one in a bowl for her, since I know she doesn't like to touch it, and she just held it up to her face to enjoy it. I loved that this was a time where she was able to figure out a way to get around her anxiety over touching it, and still enjoy the yummy treat!

Oh, I have another amazing Kylie moment to share :) While we were waiting for her therapist to come over for her review the other day....Kylie started taking her puzzle out to show the coordinator, and then Kylie wanted her to help put it together. Not only is it a huge thing that Kylie was initiating play with someone she doesn't see often (I think she has only seen her like 3 times or so), but she had us both speechless with our jaws dropped open. Kylie put 2 matching puzzle pieces together and found another piece that matched! Granted she has played with this puzzle a zillion times, but this is like super huge! This is well above her age level....woohoo!

The thing that Matt and I absolutely love right now is something that I started doing with Kylie this past week. I asked her if she wanted to do her ABCs...and then I said "A" and Kylie repeated it, all the way through the end of the alphabet! I bet it won't be too long before she can do it herself...actually a few times already she has skipped a letter and said the following one...she knows what comes next! Not only do we love hearing her cute little voice, we thought we would capture it on video and share with you all.

We did the video while in the car...it is definitely easier to film her when she can't move :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

lately

So, I'm still trying to juggle what goes on which blog, but I think this post will go here :)




So on Monday, I had Kylie's therapist join us at Kindermusik to see how she is/isn't handling things there. Kylie was more interested in getting the instruments or toys when prompted to do so, and more inclined to put them away. Prior to this she had been screaming and not wanting to get them or put them away, and I had to do it with her fussing as she was attached to me. I still had to be close to her while she tried, but that is better.




She still had a hard time going along with what was going on in the class. I did notice it was a lot more noisy in there than usual, so I think that played a big part in her being so uncomfortable. She really was upset when we started with the bells...it hadn't bothered her the last couple of times, but it was very stressful for her this week.




I know one of her sensory issues is auditory, but it's kinda hard to keep her away from noise, especially when we are trying to expose her to more social interactions with kiddos....well, that and the fact that it doesn't always bother her.




She kept saying away, and I think it was because it was too much for her....made me really sad. It seemed like there was a lot of time that she was running away from what was going on more than she participated....more sad momma.




I talked with our therapist for a little while after class and she thought Kylie did great coping with everything, but I saw it as her running away and not being a part of things. I know that is a way of coping for her and it is great that she is doing what comforts her, but it also keeps her from doing things and learning to be around other kids and allow herself to enjoy it.

Our therapist also mentioned that she may have seen Kylie do some questionable hand stuff, that definitely freaked me out. Needless to say I was in a bit of a rut the last couple of days. It's hard sometimes to think that other things may happen, when Kylie has done so well and amazed us all. I don't think anything new could ever be easy or expected...even if it is expected...just not something you want to see or hear.

I mentioned to our therapist about whether or not we should continue Kindermusik, and she said it is great for her and to keep doing it. I just feel like it is a lot right now, and I'm not sure how much longer I can play the strong momma.

I just wish a change in routine and new things weren't so hard for her. She is so sweet and cute, and feisty, and I want her to be happy and healthy and safe....always.

It got a bit cooler in the evenings last week, and we thought we would try giving her a little blanket in her crib. She screamed and was yelling away. It didn't belong there, so she couldn't have it with her...made me sad. I wonder what will happen when the day comes for her to sleep in a big girl bed. I know it is only a matter of time until she tries climbing out of her crib...she is getting practice trying to climb out of the booth when we go out to eat....our little monkey :)

We went out to AB to eat tonight and Kylie was just hopping away in the booth, so we told her that if she sat down she would get some ice cream. She was excited and sat down :) She can listen pretty well when she wants to...unless we are in the mall and she wants to take off... (more on that later). When it came out she was so stressed she let out a huge scream and just couldn't do it....my poor baby.

So more on the escaping child. Today we had a playdate at the mall...they have storytime at the Barnes & Noble there. Anyhow, last week she ran off just a couple times, and this week she was constantly running away from me. I was thinking to bring her leash with me and just totally forgot. After today, I will never forget it again. I couldn't count how many times I chased after her.

I told our friend that the next playdate would have to be at our house, so I have less running to do :) I have yet to use the leash, but I'm ready to break it in. She likes wearing the little backpack part of it, so there is a start.

Oh, another thing we have been doing is sitting on the potty. We read lots of books, and whenever Kylie gets I up I tell her that I am going to put her diaper back on. She then says no, and sits back down :) She has yet to do anything, but I know when she does she will be excited and I'm sure my cheer of joy will scare her so much that she won't want to do it again..lol.