9 months home!

Kylie has been home 9 months...as long as her China Mommy carried her inside.  I can't believe it's been 9 months.  Some days it feels like she's been with us forever and some days I feel like I was *just* packing to travel to China.

For Christmas, I bought a copy of our China album for Deanne and looking through it brought things so much more in focus.  It is absolutely amazing how far this sweet girl has come since March.

Maybe a better comment would be it is amazing how far this MAMA has come since March.  The journey is one we are ALL on.

What's Kylie up to now?  Well, she is a month shy of turning 2 years old.  In the last month or so, her vocabulary has really started to pick up.  She will parrot just about anything you say back to you.  We are working hard at getting her to "use your words" when she needs something instead of grunting and whining and us anticipating her need.  She doesn't usually spontaneously tell us things yet, but she's getting there.  We are still doing speech therapy twice a week and TEIS once a week.

We haven't been to the doctor for height/weight, but last visit, she was nearly in the 50th%ile for both.  She fits very well into 18 month clothes and some 24 month (pants are usually too big). 

She will go to other people now.  She especially likes my friend Jill's husband, Alan.  He's super tall and she loves for him to pick her up and even throw her up in the air, which is a big milestone...that's trust in another person...she had a great time with my niece over Christmas and then we had an ER trip thrown in for Steve's kidney stones and my sister kept her for us and she went right to her and even took a nap at her house.  So she's establishing relationships with other family members now too.

She is super animated.  Unless she has just woken up, she is usually a jabber mouth (gee, wonder where she gets it?!) and loves to sing (although I don't have a clue as to what she's singing).  This is from one day at breakfast.  I love that she thinks she is funny too!

Most times if you ask her for a hug, she'll hug you and pat your back which simply makes me melt.  When you ask for a kiss, she offers you her cheek.  Steve calls that "typical woman" behavior.  And sometime when you say, "love you", she'll try and say it back and will occasionally lean in for a kiss on the lips if you are lucky and she's feeling particularly sweet.

She still likes to be carried but she also likes to walk as well.  She has no fear when it comes to climbing and falling and we are expecting our first broken bone or stitches any time now.  :)

She is somewhat of a picky eater but her favorite food is shredded cheese.  I know my brother is rolling over in his grave right now because he hated cheese.  Kylie loves it but her favorite way is shredded.  She recently decided that chocolate pop tarts are her favorite breakfast food, but she likes donuts, eggs, biscuits and hash browns too.  We sometimes use M&Ms as a treat and she LOVES those, so I think we'll use them as potty training treats when that time comes.  She favors macaroni and cheese but will eat lunchables, chicken and a variety of other foods.  She's not a fan of fruits and/or veggies, but we are working on that.  The girl definitely has a sweet tooth.

Speaking of teeth, she LOVES LOVES LOVES to brush her teeth.  After her palate had healed, we switched to the OK-to-swallow toothpaste and she loves night-night time because she gets to brush.  She does mostly suck the toothpaste off but she's already moving the toothbrush back and forth top and bottom and both sides.

Kylie sleeps like a champ now and we are very thankful.  She goes to bed in her crib at 8:00-8:30 after 3 books and prayers.  Every once in a while, she'll cry and I'll have to go in and give her some extra love and that's it.  She sleeps through the night until we go in and get her up usually around 8:00-8:30.  She usually takes a full two hour nap when we are at home and she can.  Many times her naps fall during the time Steve has to go pick Jenna up from school, so it might be 30 minutes to an hour.  On the weekends, I'll take her to her room and typically she will want to get in her bed rather than have me hold her.  I'll sit in there while she settles down and then finally drifts off to sleep.  I try to stay in there while she sleeps because it's quiet time for me plus, I get to be near her and I like that.  Sometimes it takes her a while to drift off.  Today, for example...

We are so blessed by this sweet baby's presence in our lives.  She is such a joy and full of personality.  All in all, she's come a long way in 9 months and I can't wait for the next 9!