Playdate with Riley - July 12th

Today I got to play with one of my best friends, Riley Pratt. She came over to my house while her parents went on a date, and I got to show her all my toys and share my books with her. It was so fun! I can't wait to go play at her house next week (so mommy and daddy can go on a date).

Love,
Kylie

Staring contest...

Just looking adorable!

 Oh, you want this book?

Okay, it's my favorite one...

Here you go!

Hope you like it!

 BONK!

Walker Wagon - July 12th

I am so excited!! My mommy and daddy bought me an early birthday present (whatever that is...), and it is my favorite new toy - the Walker Wagon! I had played with this wagon at two different friend's houses recently, and I just love it! I get to hold onto the smooth silver bar and push it along all day long. I push it in the backyard, in the house, up and down the sidewalk on my street, and I even get to show it off to my dog friends at the park. I am so happy that mommy picked up on my clues that I really wanted this wagon.

When the box showed up in the mail, I didn't know what this thing was until Grandpa Rich, Grandma Toni and Aunt Jenna came over and pieced it all together for me. As soon as I saw what it was, I couldn't wait to start showing them how I can "step step step" all over the place. Thank you!

There's no stopping me now...!

Love,
Kylie

New Pool!

Kylie has recently been the recipient of a few early birthday presents (yes, that's right, it's almost her 1-year birthday!!), including this new baby pool. I blew it up all by myself today, okay not with my mouth, but with a foot pump. It was kind of a last minute decision to play in the pool this afternoon, so there was no time for the water from the hose to warm up. So it wasn't exactly the splashy splash excitement I hoped for, since the water was so cold and already shady in our backyard, but it was still fun to watch our girl in the water. She's officially a "walker" now and was walking all over the backyard and in and out of the pool. She's so proud of herself and I couldn't be a prouder mama! Her walking confidence has increased tremendously this past week, and she's choosing to walk instead of crawl throughout the house some times.

Hi MaMa!!

And a cute butt shot for future humiliation (think teenage years, first boyfriend...haha)!

XOXO,
Jen

4th of July

First 4th of July holiday for Kylie-girl! The day started out with a new "first": Kylie standing up on her own without holding onto anything. Go girl! She did this while we were at Laguna Blanca school watching a softball game that Chris was playing in (and caught the winning "out" for his team!).

After the softball game and a morning nap, we all went to Summerland Beach for the afternoon to hang out with friends and watch Chris skim board. Kylie LOVES the beach! We brought her Pack N Play with some toys and she played in there under an umbrella. She also walked hand-in-hand with her Daddy down the beach to find some dogs (or "da's") to play with. Kylie also enjoyed some time in the waves and sand. Thankfully, she hasn't tried to eat the sand...yet. Although she was covered in sand the rest of the day.

After the beach and an afternoon nap, we headed out to the Goleta fireworks celebration. We knew it would be hit or miss with Kylie, hoping for a "hit", but ended up being a "miss" :( We were on the grass in the front row, and I think it ended up being too loud for our sweetie. She had to be walked away because she was crying and trying to get away from it. But besides that, the evening was very fun together!

God Bless America!

XOXO,
Jen

2 Months Old!

Kylie: On August 11th, I turned 2 months old, and life is very different from 2 weeks old..my life still consists of eating and sleeping, but I also get to do a lot more PLAYING! I’m pretty good at playing on my own, but I prefer to play with my best friend - Mommy! We sing songs, laugh, coo and “kick kick kick” a lot together. My Mommy thinks I will be a soccer star because I sure like to kick a lot, especially against my Mommy and the pillows. My favorite songs are “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window,” “Bah Bah Black Sheep,” and “Snuggle Me Warm.” I also like to use my voice a lot more. It seems to get a fun reaction out of those around me. I also recently found that I can suck on my hand and like to do that a lot too.

The hardest part of my day is letting myself fall asleep. I usually take 4 naps a day, with much effort from Mommy to help me fall asleep when I’m tired. I know I want to sleep, I just don’t know how yet. I can tell that this frustrates Mommy sometimes, but I don’t know what I’m doing - I’m just a baby!

On October 10th I was blessed by my Daddy at church. He said some really sweet things to me, and I’m looking forward the blessings in my life that he promised. 

I met my cousin Baby Julia for the first time that day. I can tell that she is going to be my best friend.

 Holding hands!

 Aren't I adorable?

I also went in the pool for the first time, and boy was that traumatic! It was so cold! Mommy told Daddy to take me in slowly, but he just walked me right in and I was shocked! Fortunately, he took me out right away, and I proceeded to sleep for like 2 hours in my car seat to recover from the experience. At least I had a cute outfit!

Too cool for school

At my 10 week appointment, I was 13 1/2 pounds and 23 inches long. Dr. Vic says that’s 90th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height for my age. Mommy says I must be a good eater! I did not enjoy this appointment because Dr. Vic stuck me with a needle 5 times! I was sure startled and it hurt pretty bad. I was crying and Mommy was pretty sad too. My parents told me it was for the best, even though it DID NOT feel good. Those shots made me act pretty unusual for about a day and a half. I didn’t really feel like playing, just eating and sleeping and fussing around. 

In the past month, I’ve done a bit of traveling. I went with Mommy and Daddy to San Diego for a week, which was pretty fun. Although I did not like the beach there as much as the beach in Santa Barbara. I also went down to visit Grandma Carole, Grandpa Jim and Aunt Amanda for a weekend - just me and Mommy. That was a long car ride, but I got a nice nap out of it. I love playing with Grandma and Grandpa, except that they try to keep me awake to play when I’m really tired. I guess they just love me and want to be with me as much as possible.

 Great Grandma Jean!

The view from my bedroom in San Diego

I recently really like to take naps in my swing. I don’t know why, but it makes me so sleepy! I still like to go on long walks in the stroller with Daddy too. He usually takes me on Sunday mornings so Mommy can have some time to herself. 

On a walk at the beach with Daddy

I have a few friends already - I see Steven & Rebecca Hall and Ryder Hill pretty frequently. Don’t tell Mommy, but I like to think that Steven is my boyfriend ;)

Kisses from Steven!

Hangin' with Ryder

Well that’s all for now, I’m getting sleepy again... here's one more picture of me as a pumpkin!! Happy Halloween!

2 Weeks Old!

Today is my 2-week old birthday and wow, the time has gone by fast. I mostly just sleep and eat throughout the day, but I also entertain Mom and Dad with some smiles in between. I love looking around at lights, and my favorite sound is the fountain in the backyard - it always puts me right to sleep. I also really like going for walks around the block with Dad in my stroller. I don’t find the need to cry very much, just when I’m hungry. But Mom is always there to feed and soothe me. I’ve started sleeping more in my crib - at first it was too cold and I was sure to let everyone know it. Mom wishes I would sleep comfortably on my back in the crib, for safety or something, but I really like being up against the side of the crib with my back so I don’t feel alone. My cord stump fell off when I was 12 days old, and now I’m allowed to take baths in my baby tub, but Mom is a little nervous of this, so she’s been sponge bathing me with Dad. At first I really didn’t like this, but now it’s not so bad.

Everyone tells me that my cutest features are my mouth and chin. I’ve been told that my eyes are still grayish/blue and Mom and Dad are anxiously wondering what color they will eventually be. I try to give my parents and visitors as many expressions as possible since they really seem to like it. I’ve had lots of visitors in my first two weeks - Grandma Carole, Grandpa Jim, Aunt Amanda, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Russ, Grandma Toni, Grandpa Rich, Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jenna and some of Mommy’s friends too.

I’ve been out on a few trips so far - Pinkberry, Dr. Vic’s office, East Beach Grill for breakfast, and to Hendry’s Beach. I loved the beach! The sound of the ocean put me right to sleep.

At my 1 week appointment with Dr. Vic, he said that I was looking really great. I was up to 8 pounds, 6 ounces, which made Mommy very proud. I definitely like to eat - pretty much every 3 hours. Which only lets Mommy sleep for about 2 hours in between at night, but I’ll be working on improving this as I get bigger.

Mom and Dad like to call me “their little lamb” because that’s what I sound like when I’m hungry. They also call me “lambie”. Sometimes Dad lets me cry a little longer because he thinks it’s so cute. They must think I’m pretty special because they set up a camera to watch me in my crib. Mom calls it “Kylie-TV” and keeps the screen monitor next to her side of the bed and watches it all the time. Sometimes Daddy catches Mommy watching  me on it when she should really be sleeping like me.

I really love this family that I’m a part of, and I know that my parents love me too.

-- Kylie Dawn Hulme --