Lakes and layers

I was looking through my picture of the day shots I've taken so far for 2010. I noticed a lot of pictures of Kylie's profile and the back of her head. Yesterday's lake pictures were no exception.




(These two geese were fascinated with Kylie. I thought they would swim away when they realized that she didn't have any food or when she started throwing sticks in the water. She was careful to not hit the geese and they just hung around her as she walked up and down the lake bank. For over an hour, they followed her along.)


Anyway, I've always tried to hold back and not have the camera be too obtrusive.

...Except for moments like this when I was beside her on my belly to take this shot.


But I try to stay ready, because I never know when Kylie is going to beam me a smile.

And even though I take her picture ALL THE TIME, I still have a little rush of energy when she smiles. Just enough rush to cause the camera to shake a bit, lose focus and give me blur instead of clarity. Then I simply shake my head and think "Oh well, the adrenaline got me again! Another blurry one."

It doesn't matter. The pictures are fine and more importantly, I had fun taking them.

Yesterday, Kylie went a little crazy over the fresh-from-the-dryer, warm towels. She insisted that I pile them on her and her babies.


She loves lots of layers on her bed at night too. She likes her flannel blankets and insists on four of them on her bed at night (and don't even THINK about taking one off Mommy!) In the morning, they are a complete tangle where she has gotten hot and kicked them around.

I guess that's all for now. Have a great weekend everyone!

Wordless Wednesday 3/24

What Kylie is reading - week of March 15

A Girl and Her Gator
This was a sweet find at the library. It's about a little girl who wakes up with a gator on her head. It was a special treat for us to find it because Kylie keeps a leggo crocodile by her bathroom sink. She plays with him and bathes him as I comb her hair each morning. So it was commonplace for her to see a girl with a gator companion.

Corduroy Helps Out
Kylie found this one. Corduroy mostly helps out by recycling. Kylie liked that it was a lift-the-flap book. A good one for general reading but not great for a nap-time story because she was more interested in lifting the flaps than hearing the story.

Bear's Busy Family (A Barefoot Board Book)

We have three of the Stella Blackstone Bear books: Bear at Home (Bear Series, 6), Bear About Town and Bear on a Bike. We have read and enjoyed them countless times. So I was tickled that Kylie found Bear's Busy Family at the library.

Maisy Big, Maisy Small
Kylie picked this book (she had some great picks this week!) and insisted upon having it read to her three times in a row. A simple book about opposites and yet it really appealed to her.
Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy

We got this Fancy Nancy book along with Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly. Kylie likes all the emotions Fancy Nancy expresses. I think I'll look for some Fancy Nancy books the next time I'm at my favorite used book store.

Park pictures, a story and a joke

We took Kylie to Clemyjontri park on Sunday and a snapped these pictures.

Running....


...and running (I wish this one had been in focus.)


...and more running


with lots of bouts of rocking in between.




The story:
Last Wednesday, Kylie had her weekly swim lesson and it didn't go well. It was just an off day and she wasn't interested in following the teacher's instructions or going under or anything. She just wanted me to bob her around in the water.

At the end of class, the teacher was holding Kylie and asking her to blow bubbles. Kylie was blowing them and the teacher was complimenting her. Then the teacher said, "Show your daddy how well you blow bubbles when you are in the bathtub tonight. I bet your daddy would love to see you blow bubbles. Blow them just like that for daddy."

I was a little surprised because I thought the two mom thing had come up with the teacher. She and I are quite friendly, exchanging chit chat before and after class. But I guess we had never talked about it. Anyway, the teacher said "daddy" something like six times in a row.

Kylie looked at her quite earnestly and said very proudly and loudly, "I have a grand-daddy!" I beamed at her. Kylie actually calls her grandfathers "grandpa" and "papaw" so I was pleased that she made the jump to "grand-daddy". But I was even more tickled that she went from thinking "I don't have a daddy" to "But I DO have a grand-daddy." It was a lovely moment.

Her joke:
Kylie is starting to learn knock-knock jokes. She told one correctly on Friday.
Kylie: Knock, knock
Me: Who's there?
Kylie: Boo
Me: Boo who?
Kylie: Oh, don't cry Mommy.

Way to go kiddo!

Mushed in lips

Ever since Kylie was a baby, we've seen the mushed-in-lip look.

September 7, 2007




October 9,2007


We usually see it when she is deep in concentration or completely overwhelmed.

March 1, 2008. She's taking her first steps here.


Very rarely, it will escalated to lip biting.
November 29, 2008


Mostly, just mushed-in lips.
October 11, 2008. I've asked her where her ears are in this shot.


As Kylie's confidence grew, so did her smiles. And it became rare to see the mushed-in lips.

August 17, 2009


And then we have a day like today. Beautiful weather. Short sleeves on all of us (for the first time!) as we basked in the sun. We took Kylie to Burke Lake Park and it was packed. Lots of children of all ages playing all over the play structure.

Kylie really wanted to hang out at the top of the slides. But she was getting bumped and jostled a LOT by many older, faster kids. A couple of the bumps were pretty hard. And there it was.....that look. That look that told me that she had to sit right down. A look that told me she was overwhelmed and processing a lot of information and feelings. But it was also a look that also told me she was DETERMINED.


I held back and marveled at how she had made her way back to the slide and within seconds was going down it. It was touching to see the overwhelmed look and magnificent to see her quickly move past it.


My kiddo teaches me something everyday. But I'll bet you $100 bucks that on her first day of kindergarden, I'll see those mushed-in lips.