The Power of the LeapPad?

Today we have been busy tackling some projects around the house, mainly related to moving Kylie into her self-proclaimed "big girl room". Of course, being the little "helper" that she is, Kylie has been offering her assistance to us both in the hopes she may be able to legitimately climb to the top of the step ladder or use the paint brush on the wall.

At one point she made up this contest in which she would flip through a book as I was completing a task, and the one of us that finished first was the contest winner. Needless to say, under this contrived rule set, I lost a series of "contests". After about my fifth loss over the course of the day, Dan walked into the room to check on how things were going. Kylie quickly chimed in with, "Daddy, I won the contest! Are you impressed?" A little surprised that she even knew the word impressed, Dan asked her to repeat what she said. "Are you impressed that I beat mommy in the contest?"

Later that day at family dinner (so labeled because we only get to sit down together for a meal on the weekends and holidays), Dan was quizzing Kylie on her nursery rhymes to keep her occupied while we finished eating. After running through a few...he asked what the wolf did after he couldn't blow down the Little Pig's brick house. Kylie was pretty uninterested at this point (me too) and didn't answer. Dan asked her again, and she looked over at him and said, "I don't know. That question is too difficult, Daddy." Difficult? It just sounds so funny coming from this little kid.

They learn things so fast, it is no surprise that everyone thinks their kid is the smartest! It really is amazing how quickly children absorb new things and retain them. I'm going to attribute this latest blossoming of her vocabulary to her love of the LeapPad.

Dancing & Watching the Waistline

Kylie started back to dance class today with a set of new teachers, Ms. Lauren and Ms. Alaina. She was timid at first, but there were many familiar faces from her summer class, which seemed to help. Before long, she assumed her favorite position in the class...right between the two teachers. She is just short of being obsessed with being next to the teacher in the class. While she won't tackle anyone else (yet) to get there, she is a master of putting herself in prime position to join hands with the teacher if the chance arises.

She was a good listener in class, so we asked if she'd like to go out to breakfast. Since she loves restaurants, she was excited. Once we sat down, she announced to the waitress that she wanted eggs and pancakes! And so it was...scrambled eggs, bacon, and three small pancakes - the "Grand Slam Junior". When her food came, she ate her eggs, bacon, and a bite or two of a pancake, but then announced that she was done. Since she declared pancakes as her "Favorite Food" in her recent "All About Me" book at school, which I think may only have been because she is good at drawing circles, Dan asked her why she wasn't eating her pancakes. She responded with, "Daddy, I can't eat all my pancakes, or I will get fat!" Really!?! My 27 pound 3 year old is already deciding pancakes will make her fat?

Two Doctors!

Today, I took Kylie to the doctor to check a rash that started on her lower back a week or so ago and seemed to be worsening. Since Kylie had some trouble with eczema in the past, we weren't too concerned at first. As it continued to spread though, we decided we better get it checked.

As we approached the doctor's office, Kylie excitedly asked if she was going to see Dr. Beattie - her main pediatrician. I explained that we were going to see Dr. Hanlon, Dr. Beattie's friend. (While we love Dr. Beattie and would have gone to him if he had the first appointment, I have a soft spot for Dr. Hanlon on sick visits since she gave me a great home remedy one time Kylie was sick.) When Dr. Hanlon came into the exam room, Kylie told her she was there because she was itchy. Dr. Hanlon examined her and diagnosed the problem as Pityrasis Rosea (harmless and non-contagious, contrary to its appearance), but was surprised to see it in such a young child. So, she wanted to see if Dr. Beattie was available for a second opinion.

When Dr. Beattie came in Kylie blushed with excitement and then leaned over to me and said, "Mommy, I have TWO doctors!" We all laughed, and Dr. Beattie told her that she had two doctors because she was so special. Kylie seemed to think this explanation made sense, and Dr. Beattie proceeded to make the same diagnosis. Then they suggested that we see a local Pediatric Dermatologist just to make sure. (We ultimately got the same diagnosis.)

So, as the doctors left the room Kylie turned to me and said, "Is Dr. Beattie going to get my Princess stickers?" Turns out she wasn't crazy about Dr. Beattie for taking such good care of her...she just remembered the stickers she got last time she was there. Also, she didn't seem to buy into the idea that a third doctor made her more special, as she resisted the visit altogether.

Little Girl Cousins

Kylie has four first cousins, three of which are boys. While she loves to see each of them, she took to her cousin Lyla right from the start. Additionally, the girls are only months apart in age, so bonding was easy from the start. Although they live 1500 miles apart, they talk about each other for months after their visits and even had their first real conversation on the phone last month.

Today, Lyla's mom (my sister) called me on my way home from work and shared that she asked Lyla if she wanted to call Aunt Kristen. Lyla declined, but noted that if Kylie wanted to chat she'd would be up for that. So funny to hear a 3 year old speak so candidly about selecting her social interactions.

Entry Into the World of Blogger

After some consideration and debate, we have decided to enter the blogging world and retire our Baby Jellybeans site that has served us well for the past three years. We hope that you'll continue to follow the life and times of Kylie and our long wait to adopt another baby from China. We'll try to go back and fill in some history from the old site as time permits.

Here is a recent picture of Kylie enjoying some summer fun in her full swimming attire at Mike Ditka's Runaway Beach Resort.

Last Weekend Before School

Since Daddy had to return to school on Monday, we decided to make a weekend out of our trip to Katelyn's Welcome Home Party at the Gower's house in St. Cloud, Florida. After we checked into the hotel, we headed out for dinner at the Arabian Nights dinner show. Kylie got to meet some of the performers and the horses before we sat down to dinner.

She was so enthralled in the show and the story that she barely even touched her dinner, which is unusual for Kylie. She was also a big fan of the hotel room, which she let us know by climbing onto our bed in the middle of the night and doing her loudest rendition of the "Happy Dance".



Despite our lack of sleep the first night, we headed out to the pool the next morning and then to Katelyn's party in the afternoon. Nicole put together a wonderful spread of Chinese treats and souveniers from their recent trip to China. Kylie had a great time playing with the kids, and we had a nice time catching up with our fellow CCAI friends from around the state. Most of all, it was great to see Katelyn home and adjusting so well to her new family. She has clearly been having a wonderful time with her new big brothers and mom and dad.

And Laurie got some mommy practice time in, as Kylie picked up on her teaching expertise right away and solicited her services for some reading time. Thanks Laurie and thanks to the Gower Family for hosting another great event!

Slides and Bounce Houses

Slides and bounce houses are two things of which Kylie just can't get enough. So while Dan still had some time off this summer, he took Kylie to play at A Latte Fun indoor playground with a couple of his friends from work and their kids. In south Florida in the month of August, an indoor playground is about the only reasonable place other than the pool to fill a day of physical activity for some pre-schoolers. Needless to say, Kylie has a great time rotating between the slides and the trampolines. Daddy said Kylie was an "angel" all day.