Kayla 2.5 years Old

 

I can hardly believe that Kayla is two and a half! I can hardly remember life without her, as cliche as that sounds. Kayla is an energetic, fun loving, emotional, expressive, dramatic, musical, dancing, princess loving little girl. She's got the biggest, cheesiest grin around and will smile on cue!

Ballet Class

Dress up with her cousins

Kayla has become very entertaining lately! Brett and I are looking forward to all the funny moments that are coming our way having a toddler. She's getting more and more talkative and her personality is blossoming! I've been writing down some of my favorite Kayla-isms.

Combing a goat at the zoo!

When dropping Brett off for work, he'll get in the back to give her a kiss. She hugged him and said, "Now go give Tyson a kiss Dad!"

Playing on the swing at Grandma Jean's

If I get frustrated with her, she'll get a stern look on her face and say, "Don't scream mom!" or "Don't look at me mom!" Its hard for me because even if I'm completely calm, when I chastise her for any action, or even ask her to look at me so I can correct her bad behavior, she recognizes it and immediately starts crying, "No, I'm sad!!" Therefore any consequence lately is hard given and quite often blown out of proportion by her hysterics. 

This photo is spot on!

Shampoo Hair!

When she doesn't want to do something, she says, "I can't want to!!"

She was so cute on Easter that Brett's station featured her on the news. 

She always says she loves things. If we say a baby, she'll smile and say, "I love the baby."

She loves nursing her babies and uses a travel pillow as her boppy

Just today while I was folding laundry, I asked Kayla to play with Tyson. She said, "No I can't do that. Its too scary for me." haha!!

One happy girl at the Orca show at Sea World!

If Tyson or any other child is sleeping, she'll put her finger to her lips and say, "Shhh, the baby's sleeping."

Feeding the ducks at the Greenbelt

When we watch a show on Netflix or Hulu and the episode ends, she smiles and says "One More!!"

It was raining outside and she insisted on using the umbrella the whole time we shopped! 

When we tuck her in at night, we all give her a kiss, including Tyson. She'll kiss Tyson and then say, "Now go take a nap, Tyson!"

Her hair is still a little too short to all fit into one pony tail so this is the alternative!

She likes to say 'See ya later, alligator', but often it comes out 'See ya alligator'. When we were at Walmart, I told her to say goodbye to the nice lady checking us out. She said, "See ya alligator lady!"

Celebrating mom's birthday!

Selfies and duck face lessons!

I had some meetings on Sunday and decided to take Kayla to the church to hang out with some young women rather than find a babysitter. I kept Tyson in with me since he just plays on the floor. She didn't know these girls very well so she was a little hesitant. She peaked into my meeting and said, "Mommy, I need you!" I told her she had to stay with the young women. A few minutes later, the young woman watching her peeked in and said, "Kayla said if she can't have you, she needs to have Tyson." I had to laugh at my two-year old negotiating the terms of her child care!

Two cuties!

A little seniorita at Youth Conference

Kayla has been potty trained for awhile, but still quite often when she goes poopoo on the potty, she'll exclaim, 'Mommy's proud of me!' The other day, she said, 'I'm proud of myself!!' I had to laugh.

Trying on glasses for fun at Aunt Haley's office

Idaho Falls Temple

Her sentence structuring is quite excellent but there are a few things she says that are funny. When its time for a meal or she sees me eating anything, she asks, "What are you eating of?'

Happiest egg gatherer around!

The terrible twos are rearing their ugly head in our house. This is an example of our confusing conversations.

Kayla: "I'm sad." Me: 'Why are you sad?" Kayla: "NO! I can't be sad!!" Yeah, sometimes, I just can't win!

She loved the little grocery store at the children's museum

This never happens anymore! I loved it!

The other day for dinner we were eating pulled pork sandwiches and chips. Kayla quickly ate her own chips and was less excited to eat the meat. She sat quietly at her chair while Brett and I were talking about the day. I noticed that some sly sideways glancing eyes were peaking up over the edge of the table. She sneakily slid her hand across the table to Brett's plate to snag his chips. It was so unexpected and funny that I couldn't help but laugh out loud! 

St. Patty's Day fun at the Library

Easter! 

Kayla's favorite shows of late are Curious George, Daniel Tiger and Sofia the First. I actually love all three of them myself and encourage her to like those. I love the morals learned and always try to watch them with her during her TV time. 

Building Olaf with Dallin!

That face!

We have Disney music and Primary songs playing almost all the time. Kayla has now gotten to where she can sing along with most of them and I love hearing her sing and dance. 

Carousel fun with Daddy!

She loves going to the library for story time and watching the puppet shows and doing puzzles. She thinks every child she sees is her friend and is always quick to smile at, hug, and even give kisses on the cheek to all she sees, especially cute boys! :)

Loving the carousel!

Shaking her egg during story time fun!

Tyson has become very mobile and can get into almost anything Kayla is doing now. Sometimes they play well together but quite often, she'll push him down or take his toys. Soon, he'll be able to fight back and she'll have some trouble. I'm doing my best to encourage them to play together and build sibling love. Let's hope it works out! 

Reading to Tyson

She loves this thing more than Tyson does!

The terrible two's are in full swing in our sweet little Kayla. Its quite often more frustrating than not for me. My patience and ability to remain calm are being tested more than ever before. Kayla is smart and knows just how to push my buttons. I was talking to a dear, wise friend who reminded me that despite Kayla's advanced vocabulary and maturity in some ways, she is still just a two year old. I expect her to be grown up in many ways more than she is. I am now regularly reminding myself of that and it has helped me so much to be understanding of her erratic toddler behavior. 

Enjoying some Steak 'n Shake!

Enjoying the puddles during our walk

To keep it real, I want to document some of the crazy. She will cry at the drop of a hat. She'll ask me what's for lunch. When I answer, she'll cry and run away. She'll ask me for help, and when I try, she screams that she wants to do it herself. I can never know what she's expecting and can't predict her wants. 

At the San Antonio Temple

At Temple Square

I have noticed that she and I both relish the moments that are just the two of us. As much as I like when the kids take simultaneous naps so I can workout, shower or just nap, the times when Tyson sleeps and she's awake are special to us. We can sit and cuddle or just chat. I love being able to focus on her 100% and she loves it to. Its a time when we can bond and I appreciate her little personality more. 

At the Zoo

She really is a sweet girl. She's always quick to apologize if she hurts someone accidentally. She loves hugs and kisses. She always wants me to dance with her and her latest request is to dance piggy back all the time - I gotta get my work outs in somehow! Every night when we put Kayla to sleep, she hugs and kisses Tyson and says, "I love you, buddy!" It melts our hearts. 

Two best friends!

Her imagination is growing quickly and I love watching her play. The other day, I was on the phone and she was playing with her dolly. She had stripped the dolly down and ran in to tell me the dolly had to go poopoo. I then found her in the bathroom wiping the whole place down with clorox wipes! She looked at me and matter-of-factly stated that the dolly had gotten poo poo everywhere! Haha! I wonder where that came from!? 

She jumped up into this display bed at Macy's and asked to take a nap!

She is a daddy's girl through and through. If Daddy's home, she'd rather he take her potty, get her food, and read her books. I love watching the man I love loving our children. It makes my heart swell and I'm reminded how lucky she is to have the daddy she does. 

Enjoying a treat with Daddy!

Sunday fun making forts with Daddy!

Kayla has overcome a lot of her fears lately. She loves swimming and is much more daring, though cautious enough, thankfully. She loves swings, slides, and all playground equipment. She is just getting to love the splash pads as she watches older kids and the fun they have. I love watching her grow from a toddler into a little girl. 

 

 

I'm sure grateful to be her mommy and love seeing her personality grow. She has the whole world in front of her!