October 2015

As usual, Blogger is a pain in the neck to upload pictures, so let's ignore the fact that some of these are all out of order.

This month has been very challenging for Daddy and I, as well as your teachers.  I feel it's safe to say that the terrible twos have arrived with a vengeance.  You are testing your boundaries in every way possible and all I can say is WOAH.  There was a well-timed parent meeting at school this month that discussed some very relevant topics and gave us a refresher on how to handle these things and I do think it has helped, if nothing else, it's helped me feel more confident in my behavior and responses.

One day at school you decided you would just open the classroom door and run outside on your own.  The teacher chased you down and has discussed adding an additional lock at the top of the door if it becomes a recurring problem.  (Disclaimer:  the school yard is completely fenced in and you would be unable to leave the property or enter the parking lot or street even if you tried.)  As far as I know it hasn't happened again.

Some days when I drop you off at school I pretend to take off your ears, put them in my pocket, and replace them with your "good listening ears."  The first day I did this you were very concerned and kept trying to get your regular ears out of my pocket.

A side note:  usually when you are not your usual sweet, sunny self I tend to think there is a cause.  I had you stand next to your growth chart a few days ago and discovered that you've grown 3/4 of an inch in the past 6 weeks.  That's a lot going on in that little body of yours, so I'm cautiously optimistic that the fire in you might be simmering down a bit.

Picnicking on the balcony.

Enjoying the new grass!

Some of your recent artwork.

Again, grass!

Your first lesson in pie baking.  I take great pride in this skill and was very excited at how much you enjoyed helping.

You even helped cut the apples.  This was the first time I'd introduced you to Granny Smith apples (a favorite of mine) and you loved them, which made me very happy.

Bunny pie!

Flower pot shoes?

Your imaginative play continues to grow and grow.  You now make anything into people.  Anytime there is three of something, it is always Mommy, Daddy, and Kinley.  If they are different sizes, Daddy is always the biggest and Kinley is the smallest.  And when there is two of something it's usually Alexa and Talia (the other two girls from your class).  Here, Alexa and Talia were pieces of pepper, and you wouldn't let me cut the other half of the pepper because that was Alexa and Talia's house (obviously).

Modeling your new hat from Daddy.

Some of your best phrases this month:  "case of dilla" (quesadilla), "boss of nova" (Bossa Nova, a favorite restaurant), "I should say" (used anytime you say the wrong thing and then correct yourself), "just in case," "is this lunch or dinner?" (asked before meals, even breakfast; sometimes you like to declare it's a different meal than it actually is and I don't mind at all as long as you eat it), "um, no vanks" (um, no thanks), "okay whatever you say" (Daddy hates this one, he thinks you sound like a teenager shrugging him off), "I don't have any feet" (used when you want us to hold you and we are trying to put you down), "I'm Kinley" (used when you don't like something, like if we tell you to do something you don't want to, I have no idea where this came from or what point you are trying to make).

You've also been making up lots and lots of nonsense words.  I'm sure it's a normal part of development at this age, but can be frustrating when I'm trying to ask you a question or otherwise trying to get information from you.  It also makes it very hard to remember the "names" of all your animals and dolls when none of them are words that I know.

You ate two googly eyes off of a pumpkin craft.  To my knowledge, the first time you fully consumed a non-food object.

Rocking Charlie and Lola and Other Lola.  You've gotten so out of hand with this chair we had to move it to our bedroom.  One day you rocked so hard you tipped the whole thing over on top of yourself, which I wouldn't have even thought possible considering the skis it sits on.

We've given some of our baby things away to friends with new babies, but you really wanted to try them out to make sure you were okay with that first.

Not exactly how it's supposed to work.

Painting a pumpkin for Dad.

Silly goose.

You are such a big fan of Kelly's talking Elmo that his mommy let you just take him home with you.  Elmo's been all over:  car rides, restaurants, bed, potty.  You really wanted to bring him on vacation but I have a "washable animals only" policy on travel.

Tea party with your friend Charlie!

Some days I can't believe how grown up you look.

Beach play date and swings with Hana and Divya.

Just pretend I took the time to crop my finger out of this one.

Daddy's pumpkin finished!

More sampling of the baby gear.

Safety first.  You've had me buckling all kinds of things into the car recently.  Not just animals and dolls, but backpacks, milk cups, and whatever else we may have with us.

Another Mom from school sent me this picture.  Daddy and I think it's hilarious.  I'm not sure when Alexa's birthday is, but she's definitely older than you and yet you look like you might crush her.

Starting preschool has quickly shown me just how small Malibu is.  I'm accustomed to going about my business and never running into anyone I know.  But since you've been going to school I've started running into other moms at the grocery store and the library and out and about running errands.  Even employees at the grocery store remember us now (I guess that's a function of living in the same location for 3 years more than school, but I digress).  On one particular day we were running a few errands and bumped into four different people we knew in a period of about 90 minutes.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, just something I haven't experienced since leaving Olney, Illinois 12 years ago.