Countdown Days 8-12

We just came off a particularly hectic weekend, but our weekends are pretty much all looking that way until we get out of October. So I get to start my Monday with five more reasons that my daughter is the greatest little almost-3-year-old there is.

8 ~ Kaylee always says the funniest things. This weekend she spent several hours outside watching her cousins play soccer and football, and she informed anyone that would listen that her eyes were cold. The rest of her was warm and toasty, but her eyes were cold.

9 ~ I love the way Kaylee tells jokes. Right now her favorites are knock-knock jokes, and she has two or three that she can tell correctly. She just gets so tickled with herself!!!

10 ~ I adore watching Kaylee's relationships develop with her cousins. We are lucky to be in the same city and get to see them often. Every time she knows that she's going to see her "boy cousins" she gets so excited and giggly. They all get along so well and love each other so much.

11 ~ I have so much fun watching Kaylee play with her babies. Yesterday I sat back and watched her play for 25 minutes, repeatedly taking off and putting on a diaper on one doll. Each time, she would exclaim her disgust, whip the diaper off, wipe the baby's bottom, give her a little snuggle and a kiss and replace the diaper. I should have counted how many times she did it.

12 ~ I love how quick and bright Kaylee is. This weekend, she switched the words from "Mary had a little lamb" to "Mary has a dog named Clover," referring to one of my good friends. I was just so thrilled with her ability to take a song that she's heard a million times and make up her own lyrics.

Countdown Day 7

I love the way that Kaylee "reads" me. She always seems to know when I'm not feeling great, when I'm super happy about something or even when I'm about to lose my patience with her for some reason. She has a knack for knowing the perfect moment for an "I really love you, mom," and a hug or kiss.

Countdown Days 3-6

Why am I not surprised that I'm already playing catch-up. To be fair, the last three days have been especially hectic, but that's no excuse...

3 ~ I love the way Kaylee is so verbal and so articulate. She's almost always talking...to herself, to us, to the animals or her toys. And she always has a millions questions. She's curious about everything.

4 ~ I love the way Kaylee greets Mike and I when we've had an absence from her. She is so enthusiastic and loving! She makes me realize how much we are the center of her world.

5 ~ I adoring singing with Kaylee. She has really been interested in music lately and has several songs that she enjoys singing. It always makes me giggle when she requests a certain song, asks for a song to be repeated or "turned loud".

6 ~ Kaylee's also quite the little dancer. She loves to dance and twirl and shake her booty with no inhibitions. That's the way it should always be. I love this side of her and hope every day that she doesn't loose that spirit and confidence as she grows older.

Countdown Day 2

I adore the way that Kaylee gets so excited about feeding our pets. This has been her chore for a couple months now, and she is so proud of herself. I especially loves the way she talks to the animals sometimes...especially Kitty. When he's mewing first thing in the morning, she says, "I know, I know Kitty. I'll feed you in just a minute." I do believe I've heard those words come out of my mouth before.

Counting Down

Today we started the big countdown. Kaylee colored in a small circle indicating that she was one day closer to turning three years old. It hardly seems right to think that three years ago I was hugely pregnant and waiting expectantly for the most life-altering thing to ever happen to me.

I'm going to try very hard to keep up with Kaylee's countdown and do one of my own...30 reasons why my small daughter is the most amazing creature I know.

I love the way Kaylee is sometimes hard to wake up. On these days, I'll try to tickle her awake, and she begins smiling before she even opens her eyes. What could be better than waking up with a smile and a giggle?

Let the Rain Come Down

Having just said goodnight to Kaylee, it's a good time to reflect on what a wonderful evening we've had. After an incredibly dry summer, the skies decided to open up and give us an ample amount of rain today. We spent a busy day under umbrellas, scurrying in and out of cars and buildings, trying to stay dry, but the evening told a different story.

Kaylee pulled on her polka-dot rain boots and we went puddle hopping. All three of us headed out in the cool evening rain and had fun. Kaylee hopped in every puddle she could find, from the tiniest crack in the sidewalk to where the water was collecting just in front of the storm drain. When we were finally ready to head back inside, we were all soaked from stem to stern and laughing like crazy.

Once inside and mostly dried, I turned off all the lights and we all snuggled on the couch in the dark. We listened to the rain and told stories and talked about everything and nothing. It was just so calm and relaxing and wonderful.

We have such an amazing little family, and it was so nice that we could enjoy each other so deeply for one evening. I am truly thankful for today's rain, and for my husband and daughter.

Family Day

Yesterday the stars alined and the clouds parted (and whatever other cliche fits) and we had a much-needed family day. With Mike going to school and working part time, he's almost always around in the evenings, but it's been a long time since we've enjoyed a whole day with him. I know that Kaylee and I both miss him terribly at times, but we are so proud of him for following his aspirations and working so hard for us.

It started with a beautiful day and a local festival and just kept going from there. We walked the dog and played on the swings and made each other laugh right up until bedtime. I am so grateful for my little family.