Kylee's First Birthday Party

Kylee did so well at her first birthday party!!!  Even though we still have a little over a week before she truely turns one, we had to spread the parties out for our sanity.  Kylee had a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" party.  I LOVE Pinterest!  This is the first party that I relied heavily on Pinterest for ideas.  It all came together so nicely!  I am super proud of all the decor for this party, and the food was fun too!  Because I chose the book as a theme, I carried out the theme throughout the food too.  Everyone had such a great time and Shaun and I actually got to mingle a lot this time.  We have such a great group of friends and it continues to grow.  Cake time went amazingly well too!  Kylee stared at all of the people singing to her and she didn't cry, she tried the cake and then of course cried when she was all done.  All in all, it was a big success!  On to planning Zoe's!!!

Growing Up!!!

 So big now...I can bathe with my big sis!

 Our little dare devil...first time in the swing at home and lovin' it.

 Big Sis loves to push!

 Yes!  That is the BABY pulling up on furniture and walking around it!

Such a BIG girl!!!

 

Well...party planning has begun at the house so I eat, sleep, and breathe planning.  Not to mention there are two parties to throw now!  Kylee is going to have a Very Hungry Caterpillar party and Zoe is going to have a rainbow party.  I am having so much fun with the themes!  They are easy, yet hard.  What Daddy and I are having a hard time with is how big our girls are getting!  How did four years go by already?!  And, seriously, it seems like only weeks ago when we brought home baby Kylee.  It is so amazing how well they get along, I am hoping it stays that way.  Kylee adores her big sister and watches her every move.  We were able to teach Kylee how to blow kisses, it is too cute.  She is so much fun right now and is pulling herself up on furniture, walking around it, and almost standing.  She still does not have any teeth, but is on her way to her first word.  I think her sister is encouraging her to talk even sooner than she did!  Zoe continues to help out all of the time, but we are working on less whining!  Zoe still loves going to school and giving us the details when she gets home.  Her teachers tell us that she has come out of her shell a bit and when we drop her off at our school, she won't talk, but once we are gone, the teachers properly greet her and she says hello to them.  She recently has learned the days of the week, all about community helpers, about farm animals, and can identify most of the letters in the alphabet now/write quite a few of them.  She continues to use more and more vocabulary and picks up so much just from being out and about with us.  Our current dilemma is with school for Zo.  Her program in NP changed its schedule from a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning program to a Mon.-Thurs.  12-2:30 program.  This puts a damper on my plans  BIG time!  Zoe was going to stick with going to both schools, but now we aren't sure how her schooling will work.  She benefits sooooo much from both programs, so it is hard to let go of either.  The best part of the school in NP is that she has made a little friend that she wants to have playdates with.  This is the first time she has wanted a playdate without me arranging with our friends' kiddos.  To give up that school would mean giving up a lot of her local socialization and NAPS.  It is not a win, win situation at all!!!  I am going to have to arrange the playdates soon, so we can get to know these little girls better and continue to keep them as little friends in the area.  Hohum!

Kylee is Signing!

Lately we have been seeing Kylee grow is so many ways!  She is now signing and can say "all done" and "more".  We will start working on please and thank you now that she uses the signs.  Our sitter says "habla mucho", meaning she talks a lot.  There are so many kids at different ages that Kylee sees throughout the day, that she is trying to keep up with them.  She is the baby!  (And not much of a baby anymore :( ...)  She is semi crawling, pushing herself up to a sitting position, and pulling up on furniture.  If anyone remembers, Zoe army crawled forever!  Kylee's can't quite be classified as an army crawl, she is more like an inch worm, but she sure is getting around!  She gets so proud of herself too!  We have been trying to explain to Zoe the importance of keeping her smaller toys out of reach because Kylee can choke on them.  She is slowly starting to understand.  The best part of all, is that she is learning the meaning of "no".  And she listens!

WOW!!! The BIGGEST Balloon Ever!

 WHOA!!!  I am floating!

 Check out this balloon!

 The girls could hop in and float away...

 

So big, it can almost lift Kylee off of the ground...

 

 

We went to our friends' house (Patrick and Sommer) for the Superbowl and all the kids played and the adults watched the game.  It was a good time and also nice to catch up with all of our friends.  The kids are all growing up so fast!  Most of us now have two kiddos and it is amazing to think of where we all were before kids, when we all had just one, and now...two kiddos.  Jeez!  Where does the time go?! 

 

When we got home, we were surprised by a HUGE balloon tied to our front door.  Our friends' son, Steven, brought it to Zoe.  It totally scared Zo, but then we assured her it was okay and then she was in awwww.  It is so big, that I thought that it could lift Kylee off of the ground, but not quite.  Both girls posed for a few pics and then off to bed.  I am sure we will have many days to play with it.  Thanks Steven!