I just received a text message from Tiffany saying Kylie can use chopsticks better than she can and Tiffany didn’t teach her. I too have never taught Kylie how to use chopsticks, my theory is that she taught herself how to use them by watching others use them. Tonight they are dining at BD’s Mongolian Barbecue to celebrate Aunt Sissy’s graduation from college (Congratulations to Aunt Sissy!) and I suspect that she has been watching others use them tonight and simply picked up on the way to use them. In any event this is pretty fantastic and I love that she picks up on how to perform actions so quickly.

Last night Kylie had her first camping experience. Her, Mommy and Mimi spent the night camping in a tent in the backyard. Mommy said they all had a great time, and here is the recap of the events from Mommy:

Last night Kylie helped us put the tent up; she was holding the poles for us as we slid them into the slots and making sure the tent was being opened fully. After we set the tent up, we had to let it air out, so we went inside to get our things ready. Kylie helped gather up her blanket and pillow and she was able to take 2 stuffed animals out with her and she decided to chose 2 dogs. She then helped me use the vacuum to inflate the air mattress. I also brought down her mattress so there would be enough room for Kylie, Mimi and I. We took them all out to the tent where Kylie kept saying “This is going to be awesome!” I asked her what else we should bring with us, and she said “books and popcorn,” so that is what we got. We also made some Kool-Aid and brought out the book “Going on a Bear Hunt” and had popcorn. We also brought out a flashlight to help us read the book and to find our way back to the house at night if we needed to. Kylie was in charge of the flashlight which she thought was cool. After we ate the popcorn, drank our juice, and read our book, we used the flashlight to get us inside to use the bathroom. Kylie kept saying, “I’m not scared.” She thought it was cool that it was so dark out (about 9:30 now). We looked at the stars when we came back out, and made a wish on one, saying “star light, star bright” and Kylie thought that was really cool too. After that we went back into the tent to go to sleep, and Kylie fell asleep pretty quickly. I think it was because she was so excited. In the morning, she was happy because we saw that there was a mommy bird feeding her babies in a nest on Mimi’s balcony. Since there was something new, the tent became old news and the birds became the focus of the morning. After discussing the birds for a little while it was time to pack up camp, Kylie helped us take down the tent and said to me “Mommy, I can’t wait to be in the tent again. It was SOOOO cooooooool!”

It sounds like Kylie had a very fun time on her first camping experience. Hopefully she will be able to have many more throughout the years and that will help help her develop a lfe long love of the outdoors.

Today Tiffany got a a little surprise in the form of a question from a curious and very perceptive three year old. Here is the story and comments she sent to me:

This morning Kylie was with me in the bathroom while I was getting ready for the day. I had just put on some deodorant and Kylie said she wanted deodorant just like me. Kylie hadn’t put her shirt on yet, so I said ok, but only to put on a little. After Kylie had put some on she wanted to go look in the mirror in my room. She looked for a few minutes and when she came back she said, “Mommy, my boobs aren’t growing.” I was in shock for a few minutes, not having expected this from her at all. When I eventually got over the initial shock of her statement I said, “Why do you need boobs?” and she said, “Cause that’s what girls have.” While this is very perceptive and shows a certain level of understanding I wasn’t really sure how to respond as I was still slightly surprised. So I said “Well, sweetie, you’re just a little girl, so you only have little boobs. When you turn 12 you will get some.” To which her reply was, “OK.”

Holy cow!! I didn’t think I would be having that kind of conversation with Kylie for a few more years yet. At least she is still at that literal stage, and just wanted to know since she noticed that that is what girls have. At least it’s not the sex talk yet.

Wow! I sure am glad that Mommy got to handle that question. With any luck, she will be with Mommy when the sex talk comes up too! 🙂

Today Kylie and Mommy went to the Toledo Zoo with Grandma Jen, Aunt Courtney, and Grandma Joan (Grandma Jen’s mom). Kylie really loved the fish. They seemed to keep her attention the most. She said, “That is just AWESOME!! Now that’s what I’m talking about.” However she was also very interested in the giraffes, the hippo, and really liked the polar bear. She kept saying over and over again “He’s HUGE!!” She liked sitting for pictures with the statues and really liked the gift shop, but that may be because Grandma bought her all kinds of things. She got a hat, a shirt, a deck of animal cards, a giraffe figure (“just like you grandma”), a little purse that had a little elephant inside. Kylie had so much fun that she fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was a very exciting and fun day, and hopefully we will be able to go back again.

I just got the following text message from Tiffany: “Kylie just told me I was the best Mom ever. Almost made me cry.”  Kylie is such a sweet little girl!

As part of Tiffany’s courses this semester she is once again taking a class that requires her to observe and work in a classroom at the Children’s Institute. This is the day care center on campus where Kylie attends day care. Today was Tiffany’s first day at this particular class, and much to her surprise they took a tour of the building. Tiffany and Kylie had not seen each other for a few days, due to Kylie staying with me because of Tiffany’s work and class schedule. This is Tiffany’s description of what transpired today:

I had not seen Kylie in a few days and I missed her as I’m sure she missed me. I knew she was at school and I had to go to the Children’s Institute for a class. I didn’t know that we were going to be taking a tour of the place. Well, on our tour, we went upstairs to where the Gold Room and Kylie’s Rainbow room are. As we got to the top of the stairs, I saw that Kylie’s class was sitting in the hall singing a song while waiting to go to the little gym. I didn’t know what Kylie would do when she saw me. I kind of expected her to run to me and give me a hug and want to go where I was going. I was pleasantly surprised and so very proud of her. She said “Mommy” (in a whisper) and waved to me, then continued with what the class was doing. As the class got up to walk down stairs, she hesitated a bit and looked to see if I was going to follow and when she realized I wasn’t, she waved and went with her class. Again, I was so very proud that she understood that I was not there to pick her up and that she needed to stay with her class. All of this without anyone telling her what was going on. I am however, a little sad that I didn’t get a hug, but I know that she loves me. She is becoming such a big girl!

Kylie certainly is growing up much faster than I had anticipated. We are very proud of her and her understanding of situations as they occur, and her understanding of what is the proper course of action to be taken in those situations.

Tonight was the Wyandotte fireworks and Mommy was debating on weather she wanted to take Kylie to see them or not. After all it was well past Kylie’s bedtime, and the last time Kylie went to fireworks she was just a little baby, only a few weeks old and she slept through them. In addition Mommy really wanted to make sure that Kylie got plenty of sleep so she would be rested for her birthday party and wouldn’t be cranky due to lack of sleep. In the end though, Mimi and Uncle Chris were able to convince Mommy that it would be fine, and so Mommy decided they would go to the fireworks. They didn’t have to go to far because the fireworks were down on the river, so they just walked down to Biddle and sat watching. Before they started Mommy explained to Kylie that they were going to be loud so that they didn’t startle her when they first went off. As it turns out Mommy didn’t have anything to worry about, each time one went off and lit up the night sky Kylie would get all excited and say “Oh, wow!” Then she would hear another one shoot up in the air and she would say “Here comes another one – WOW!” Mommy has always loved fireworks, but seeing Kylie’s expression to them for the first time, seeing her get so excited and jump up and down and hear her shout out “Wow”, that was very special. Mommy told me that she thinks these fireworks were the best ones she has ever been to, and that she will remember them forever.