Kaylee's Kidbits and Ella's Endeavors

It has been over a year since I wrote one of my blogs on Kaylee and Ella. Can you believe it? Over a year!

They have changed so much!

Ella talks our heads off. Seriously. The child does not know what silence is. She doesn't even have to be talking to anyone in particular.

Kaylee loves to write. Even in places that she isn't supposed to write. Like the table. And the wall. But hey at least she is a pretty good artist.

Ella is a night owl. Loves to sneak up and play in her room. Sometimes I go to bed at 11 and her light is on and she is still up playing in her bed. She, like me, is not a morning person. She needs her space when she wakes up.

Kaylee is such a huge helper. She does a ton around the house to help now. She sweeps and puts away dishes. She folds all of the girl's laundry and then she puts it away. (Ella puts her own away as well.) She even makes breakfast and lunch for herself and Ella with a little help.

Ella helps too. Like I said, she puts away laundry. She also helps with silverware when unloading the dishwasher. She helps dust the furniture. Keeps her room clean.

Kaylee loves Legos, Barbies, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. And all things Frozen. She is so imaginative and creative. I love watching her play.

Ella is a cuddle bear. She likes to sit on our laps and snuggle. She is so loving in that she constantly interrupts conversations and movies to say, "I wuv you, Mom." Makes my heart melt.

Kaylee has also become more affectionate. She gives hugs and cuddles and says I love you much more than she used to. She usually likes her space so I am really enjoying her recent change.

Ella loves dresses and accessories. She wears dresses everyday if possible.

Kaylee played t-ball in the spring and loved it. She seemed to get a little bored with being outfield, but loved to hit and run the bases.

Kaylee and Ella both love Charlotte. They dote on her all day every day. Sometimes it is overwhelming because they are always in her face. They help me with her. Kaylee will feed her her food and Ella will help feed her her bottle. It is so sweet to watch them with her though.

Both girls have grown up so much. My Kaylee will be 5 soon. I can't believe it. Until I talk to her and hear her grown up response. And I think, "when did you get so big?" 5 going on 15.

Tea Party Song

At preschool I have been teaching music to the 2-5 year old kids. We recently had a grandmother's tea where the 3-5 year olds sang "I'm a Little Tea Pot" and "Tea Party!", which is a song that I found on You Tube.

Kaylee loves the "Tea Party!" song.  Here is the You Tube version.

What I love about Kaylee's version below is that she mimics the guy in the beginning. So, you don't have to watch either video all the way through. Just enjoy Kaylee's rendition of the first 30 seconds or so. :) 

Kaylee's Kidbits and Ella's Endeavors

It has been a while since I have updated you on the girls so instead of writing separate blogs for them, I am doing them together this time around.

Kaylee is so grown up. She just looks like a big kid. Some of it is that she has always been on the tall side, but sometimes she just comes over and says things and Adam and I are just in shock at how old she seems.

Elanor is also tall and seeming big as of late. Her vocabulary has grown and we can almost understand everything she says. My favorite words she says right now are flip-flops and vitamin. I just like the way she says them. It is pretty cute.

Kaylee is taking gymnastics and I feel like it has been such a good experience for her. She loves to practice her tumbles and warm-ups at home. I love watching her.

Elanor is finally jumping. She has been trying for months and this morning I finally saw her feet come off of the ground together.

Kaylee is finally alright with sleeping with her door closed and we no longer leave the bathroom light on for her. This is leaps and bounds from where we started when she moved into her room before Ella was born.

Elanor is starting to potty train. I am hoping the process is quicker with her since she has Kaylee to help coach her and encourage her along side of me. She also has never been fond of diapers so I am hoping that helps as well.

Both girls love playing together. Kaylee is a much more introverted and likes to play by herself at least once a day, but overall they can play together nicely for hours. (As long as I don't have anything important to do like make phone calls.)

They are both very fascinated by the baby. Kaylee understands that the baby is growing in my belly and loves to know as much as possible about the baby. Ella just loves babies in general and so she loves to hear about the baby even though I don't think she understands that we are having another baby.

The girls are growing up so fast and sometimes it is hard to keep up. It is one of those things I don't think you ever get used to as a parent. Time just flies once you have children!
         

Kaylee's Kidbits

Miss Independent.She loves to do things by herself. If you start helping her, she will quickly say, "I would like to do it by myself please." If something is sitting out she will help herself to whatever it is without asking, not because she is being naughty, but because she thinks she is a big girl and does not need permission. (I am so glad our fridge is too hard for her to open.)

Her favorite band right now is For King and Country. If you have not heard of them, you should check them out because they are pretty fabulous. When we get into the van she wants to listen to her favorite songs in a special order. Fine Fine Life. Let it go. People Change. Right now. (Note - these might not be their official names. This is just how Kaylee would say them.)

Tangled has finally moved to the back burner, while Lion King has taken over as favorite movie. The music is great in both movies, so no complaints here.

Curious George is her favorite show.

She lives for routine. She wants to know everything we are doing during the day and she asks over and over if she forgets.

Can you believe she is old enough to be in Cubbies already? Cubbies just started up and she is learning Bible verses and the Cubbies motto. So grown up.

Blue is still at the top for favorite color.

Kaylee loves her sister. They play really well together and she is always trying to get Ella to come to her room with her to play.

She loves to facetime, skype, and talk on the phone.

I still think her love language is words of affirmation. She loves getting told that she is doing a great job. (Who doesn't - Right?!)

She does not wear diapers anymore. She still has accidents at night occasionally. We are working on that. So proud of her.

Shopping buddy. She loves going anywhere and is pretty good for the most part.

Naptimes are getting fewer and far between, but I still make her stay in her room and be quiet for some down time.

Kaylee is growing up too fast most days and not fast enough on others.

She makes me laugh a lot. She is silly and just full of energy.

I love that girl.

Kaylee's Kidbits

Where to start? Kaylee is the life of our house right now. She has so much energy and is excited about everything!

In the last 9 months her vocabulary has jumped leaps and bounds. Thinking back to when Ella was born and Kaylee came to the hospital to meet her, she could barely put a sentence together. Now she is having full conversations about super important things like the trash man driving down the road or how she needs her phone because her "Mamaw is calling".

She jumps everywhere. I never thought she could love something more than dancing. I was wrong. She LOVES to jump!

Singing is also something she loves to do. Her favorite song to sing is skinnamarinkydinkydink. It is the cutest thing ever. If you don't believe me, see for yourself.

She still loves to dance around the room. She always wants to listen to "Move" by MercyMe. Here is the live version if you want to hear it. (The radio version in my opinion is better on itunes, but this was the best one I could find for you to see.)

Potty training is going well. The only time she wears diapers is at bedtime and at naps. I know one of these days I need to just make the jump on this, but I am not quite ready to commit to cleaning up bed messes. She occasionally has accidents, but it is generally when a lot is going on or we have people over and she does not want to stop whatever she is doing. She has really done great overall!

She has been learning to share as Ella is getting more into playing. Sometimes this is difficult for her, but she is really doing much better than she used to. (There are times when she shares things with Ella that she shouldn't.)

Titus is still her favorite "toy" in the house. He loves her as well. After our excursion around the states, she held him from morning until night. Poor cat loved every minute. She would put him down and he would rub right up against her, purring, as if he was saying, "Kaylee, pick me up again." They play chase sometimes now. Kaylee will run after him and he will hide behind the couch and then she will run back down the hall and he will jump out and run after her. They do this off and on all day. (Sometimes it startles me because Titus is pretty stinking spazzy when he is running back and forth.)

She counts to 5 now and can sing most of the alphabet. She is such a big girl.

Kaylee brings me joy and I look forward to seeing the new developments that she will make over the next several months.

Kaylee's Kidbits

Kaylee seems like a giant now that we have Ella.  She is growing up so fast!

Some days her whining far exceeds the cute things she does, but that comes with being a kid.


She does a lot of cute things though.

Probably my favorite thing that she does is pick up Titus (her kitty), carry him over to me, and say, "Cheese, Momma, cheese."(meaning - she wants me to take a picture of her holding Titus)

She is all about dancing. She will start dancing to just about anything. Commercials. Someone humming. The clicking of the swing. When she starts dancing, she will say, "Momma, dance. Ella, dance. Daddy, dance." She loves to dance and wants you to dance with her!

I sat down one day to count out how many words she knows. I stopped counting at around 45 and her vocabulary is growing more every day.

The most exciting recent thing we have been working on is getting Kaylee to say "more" when she wants more food.  I even taught her the sign language to help her out. This morning all of my work has paid off. She called me over and said, "More, Momma." I am so proud!

The next adventure for little Miss Kaylee is potty training. As soon as we are home for several days and have no where to go, we will start. Keep us in your prayers. Speaking of which... if you have any tips that worked for you, please post them below or email them to me at kristadaulton@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Kaylee's Kidbits

Kaylee had her 18 month appointment today.  Her pediatrician is always so very encouraging and excited to see us and to see how much Kaylee has grown.  It is so amazing to see what she looks like now compared to her tiny little self at a month old. (Just to remind you of that difference... here are pictures.)

1 Month

3 Months

18 Months

Her appointment today confirms her growing as usual. She weighs 28 pounds 12 ounces. (93%) She is 34 1\4 inches tall. (97%) Her head is 19 inches. (90%)

Adam asked me if we should stop feeding her. The doctor says she is perfect.

Joyful Moment of the Day: No tears were shed this time when she got her shots. She is such a big girl!

Kaylee's Kidbits

In the last few weeks, Kaylee's vocabulary has started to really grow!  It amazes me how much she learns even when I feel like she is learning nothing other than how to throw a tantrum.

She has been able to say quite a few words for a while. Mommy, Daddy, Kitty, Wiggle, Moo, Titus, and shoes.

These are the new things added to the list. Thank you, Love you, You're welcome, Papa or Poppy, poo-poo, uh-oh, and go. (And her very own Star Wars language.)

Kaylee loves to dance and sing! She also loves wearing shoes, but hates socks. She hates having her hair combed or to have bows in it. She enjoys knocking on the bathroom door when someone is in there - especially if it is her daddy. She also likes to cover her face and pretend she is hiding.  This game is cute, but she is one patient kid during this game and can sit there "hiding" for quite a long time while you pretend to look for her.  She loves to skype.  As soon as she hears the noise it makes when it comes on, she comes running over.  Every day is something new and exciting with her.

As we prepare for baby number two (still no name- sorry), we are realizing quickly that our "baby" is quickly becoming a little person of her own, leaving behind most of her baby qualities and becoming a toddler. Although, she will always be our baby.

I love my little girl(s).

Joyful Moment of the Day: Adam is setting up downstairs for game day. He has his music on and is singing loudly along with it.  It makes me smile. Especially when he comes up and starts singing to Kaylee. :)