Kylie went for her first bike ride on the back of Tiffany’s bike today, and from what Tiffany says it sounds like she really enjoyed it. At first, after Tiffany got Kylie’s seat on the bike and her in it, they rode around block and came back to the house so Tiffany could adjust her seat, when she got up Kylie pointed to the seat and said “sit.” Which Tiffany thought was really funny and, in addition to Kylie’s very large grin and massive amounts of laughter, a good sign that she was enjoying the bike ride. When they were finally done and Tiffany put the bike away, Kylie walked into the house with her hands behind her back looking down with a pout and quietly saying “more.”

After their bike ride they went to the Heritage Park petting farm in Taylor. Kylie seemed to enjoy the petting zoo as long as the animals did not come to close, then she backed away and seemed a little apprehensive. Tiffany said it was a fun experience and I am hoping that the next time I will be able to join them. I am also hoping to take her to the zoo this summer as well, so she can see all the animals. I will be sure to bring my camera when we go do these things so I can take a bunch of pictures!

After work today I went down river and met Kylie, Tiffany, and Aunt Sissy at Applebee’s. When I walked in Kylie saw me first and said “Hi Lil bit,” and thus informed everyone else that I was there. She said this because I call her my Little Bit. Tiffany and Melissa told me she did this when I finally saw them and went over to our table. After dinner we all went over to Coldstone for some ice cream, where Aunt Theresa joined us. Then we went back to Kylie and Tiffany’s where Kylie took a bath and got ready for bed. After her bath I read her a book and rocked with her for a bit and then put her down for bed. Putting Kylie to bed is something that I didn’t realize I missed so much while I was gone. There is something calming and relaxing about rocking her at night and putting her down for the night.

Kylie spent the night last night for the first time since I have been home. It was really nice having here with me all night again. She slept in her pack-n-play without issue, although she did fuss a little in her sleep which always wakes me up. We had fun playing and watching TV, we watched her favorite movie, Disney’s Cinderella, a couple of times as well. It’s fun just seeing how excited she gets when I put that DVD in for her. She sat on my lap for a good portion of the movie, just watching intently, before moving to the floor to continue to watch. All in all it was a really good time, and I am looking forward to more.

Today I got to see Kylie for the first time in about a month and a half! I met her and Tiffany at Bob Evans for dinner, and Kylie was very excited to see me, as I was to see her. When I walked in to the restaurant Tiffany pointed to me so Kylie would see me, and then she got all excited. She jumped up and down in her chair and pointed at me and said “Daddy, Daddy.” When I got over to the table she put her arms up to me and I picked her up and got a great big hug. She then sat on my lap for the majority of dinner, and when she wasn’t in my lap she was seating in her chair across from me with a great big smile on her face.

After dinner we went back to Kylie and Tiffany’s house where we played for a little while and then Kylie got ready for bed. I was able to read her a bedtime story and rock with her before she went down to sleep for the first time in a long time. The whole time I was telling her that I was home for good this time and that I would not be leaving again and she would see me more often now. I am sure she understood me because she went down to bed without a fuss over me leaving.

It’s really good to be home and near Kylie again. She has gotten so big since I have left; it is really quite amazing how much bigger she has gotten over the last seven months. I am sure if I had been here the entire time I would not have noticed it so much, but she really has gotten big.

Today Kylie put her shoes on all by herself. Tiffany did not see how she did it the first time, but she later performed the task again and this Tiffany caught part of it. She said it looked as if Kylie stepped into them, and even though they were on the wrong feet, as kids often do, they were in fact on. After Kylie got them on she ran over to Tiffany and said “yay!” This is Kylie’s newest exclamation, and is often followed by “I did it!”

Tiffany informed me that today, while her and Kylie were in the car, Kylie was singing the octaves. Tiffany would do it first and then Kylie would repeat it. Tiffany said it was really cute and Kylie continued to do it long after Tiffany had stopped. Not saying this means she will continue on to be a singer or anything, but she does also like to dance, so who knows? Maybe she will pursue singing and dancing as she gets older, only time will tell.

When they got home, Tiffany said Kylie took her coat off and placed it in the hall closet all by herself. She did not, obviously, hang it up, but she did know that it went in the closet and placed it there. She understands that things have a place and that there should be organization. Hopefully she will be organized like her Daddy.