I just put Kaylie down for a nap, and then went upstairs to the kitchen. A few minutes later she appears in Jeff's arms- apparently there is going to be no nap today. She sees that I am making brownies and the following conversation takes place.

"I help you mommy"

"I help you mixing"

"Mixing the brownies" ( in a sing song voice as she mixes)

"Mixing the brownies"

"Making the brownies for daddy"

I add - "and Kay kay"

She continues

"And mommy...

And baby sister"

"Lick the mixer, pour it in the bowl"

Jeff and I mostly are responding to this in laughter, and then I say rhetorically “ where did you come from”

"From my bed.

I guess we have made a few batches of brownies around our house. Enough so that my barely two year old know the process step for step and can repeat it to me.

In all seriousness Kaylie; really where did you come from?

Kaylie is so hysterical....to us anyway. Lately she has a few "catch" phrases that she say constantly and I wanted to get them written down so I wouldn't forget. You can her one of them in the video...she say "it's my favortie."

You may need to scroll to the bottom and pause the music player

She also says

"pretty please" with a pouty voice and all

" it's delicous" which I am trying to prompt her to say in the video, but I can't get her to say it

" just pre-tricking you" which is pretending and tricking rolled into one purpose

"it's in my story" which is a line from her favorite show Super Why.

"I'm still working on it" which is her cousin Kate's line, but she has picked it up too.

"I need you" which just melts our hearts/trys our last nerve depending on the hour of night.

Perception

Meet John Smith. Maybe you have already made his aquaintance. He is from the movie, Disney's Pocohantas.

Unfortunately, my sweet Kay has decided that he and I resemble one another.

She has been carrying him around for the last couple of days calling him "mommy", cooking for "mommy", giving this "mommy" things wrapped in blankets that she calls presents.

Hopefully it is just the yellow hair and blue eyes....perhaps the fact that he too wears his boots over his jeans.

I am finding it funny the way a child's mind works.

Just today she has been carrying him around with this sheep/puppy thing calling them "mommy and baby sister" which comfirms to me that she does, in fact believe that I am pregnant with a kitten. She has been touching my belly button (which is no longer concave with my abdomen), or as she refers to it " the kitty's nose" and laughing.

She is going to be sorely dissapointed in 4 weeks, when I bring a baby home rather than a pet cat.

Two years old!

It was Kaylie's birthday yesterday. I had intended to make it a good day for her without nessicarily letting on that it was her birthday. Mostly because ever since she was at Kate's birthday a few weeks ago, she has been telling me that when it is her birthday she was going to get presents too.
Not that my sweet child is not getting a birthday present, we just have plans to celebrate with family and her party later this weekend and the birthday fun that she is expecting is still to come. After a visit from both grandmas, two cousins, dad coming home early ( and an assortment of small treats and presents that came with those visitors) a trip to the aquarium, chick-fil-a, the dinosaur museum, and blowing out candles she may have had a complete birthday already.

A little about Kay at two

She weighs 26 lbs, and is 34" tall ( right at 50% for both height and weight.)
Her hair is always in her grey eyes.

She loves bubbles, outside, playing in water, going to the park, cartoons, blocks, books, coloring, painting, puzzles, playdough, playing with kids and Toby, music and dancing, and to run and be chased.

Her favorite foods are eggs, "noodle soup" ( spagehtti O's), chicken noddle soup, "meat" ( the deli slices), go-gurts, "pull-pulls" ( tangerines), grapes, green beans, strawberrys, peaches, tic-tacs and pez candy.

She can say anything and everything and I am amazed how far her languge has come in the past couple of months...some of my favorite phrases she says daily are "me too", "I hear it", "I see it", "help-a me momma", "I happy", "silly goose" and of course "I lub mommy". She is also so polite alway saying please and thank you, no thanks and excuse me.

I love that she can expresss exactly what she sees or needs. Todays examples -
She saw construction on the side of the road and said "what a mess...clean it up..oh-well"

Toby was waiting around for some lunch to be dropped his way. I gave Kay three animal cookies for dessert, and walked out of the room for a second. When I came back she was gone and I found her in her room on her bed cookies in hand. She told me "no toby, eat my cookies" and it seems she was hiding in her room from toby's cookie snatching ability.

She spilled water on her shirt, removed her shirt and said " my shirts wet, I need new shirt".

She knows her letters, numbers, shapes. Everyday she suprises me with her smarts.

Her favorite songs to sing are ABC's, popcorn popping, five little monkeys jumping on the bed, book of mormon stories, and tonight's gonna be a good night ( yes - black eyed peas)

She loves Finding Nemo ( and can repeat some of the lines), Tinkerbell, Mickey Mouse, and Super Why.

She is ever so sweet. She is alway putting her hand in her shirt and bringing it out so carefully acting like she now has a tiny baby in her hand. Then she will say "tiny baby'', and kiss her imaginary baby or rock it or give it to me.

The other day we were playing with her disney dolls and I asked her which was her favorite - she told me Goofy, I told her mine was Minnie and she picked up Minne and said " here mama has Minne" Like I told her I liked her doll and she gave it to me.

She is the best helper and loves to help. She changes the clothes from the washer to the dryer, unloads the dishes and puts soap in the dishwasher, sweeps and mops, cooks, bakes and sets the table, puts clothes in the hamper, rakes the yard, and empties the trashes.

She is always giving us hugs, kisses, and kitty kisses, and loves to cuddle.
She loves to be silly and laugh.

I love my little bear so much and am so proud of her. I love her sweet and happy disposition. She keeps Jeff and I on our toes, and laughing out loud. Happy Birthday my big girl.

EGGS!

We took Kay to her first Easter egg hunt this past weekend. It was a free event at This is the Place Heritage park. Even though it was bitter cold, we thought we would get out and take advantage of our downtown home while we are here.

The hunt was crazy. There were probably at least a couple thousand people there, and I heard someone say that there were only 10,000 eggs. With all the whole park, you would think that they would have plenty of room to hide them, but the put all the eggs in about a half acre space. Needless to say we didn't put Kaylie down untill the hunt was over for fear she would be trampled by the anxious children and aggressive parents.

Jeff and I were laughing over the ridiculousness of it all, yet Kaylie seemed to be having a great time...which made us have a great time too. She got three and a half eggs for her effort. And when I say she I mean, Jeff got two and I got one and we handed them to her to put in her basket. They have provided hours of entertainment for us back at home as Kaylie hides them for me and tells me to go find them several times a day.

Also this week we colored some eggs just for fun. Eggs + crafts = kaylie fun. She loves all things crafty ; painting, coloring, playdough, and even more so... she loves eggs.

Every morning for breakfast she asks for eggs. If I leave the fridge open for a second to long she sneaks in there and takes the carton of eggs out. She knows how to crack and open her own eggs. And now, now that they are exciting colors, she has an even stronger affinity towards them. Next week at her two year old appointment, I plan on asking the doctor if eating this many eggs ( two a day every day) is too many for a toodler.

Most families color their eggs as a traditon, and then maybe eat and egg salad sandwich or two, and the rest go bad. Not at our house. We may have to boil and color some more before this weekend because we are down to two eggs ....two yellow eggs.

Maybe from the pictures above you can tell, but she has an affinity to pink as well these days.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

We went to see Disney on ice with Grandma, Crystal and Kate last night, about which Kaylie could not have been happier. All day before hand Kaylie kept asking me when Kate would be here, and telling me that Kate was coming to her house to see Tinkerbell. Then she was going to be Tinkerbell and Kate was going to be Mickey. ( Kay would not believe me untill she saw it that Kate was going to be a princess.)

Although asking after Kate in not unusual - she does this every day about 8 or 9 times. Whenever we get in the car she tells me Kate's house - like I am driving cab and she is telling me her final destination. It is no doubt that Kate is her favorite person right now.

Here the girls are patiently waiting before the show begins....smiling, and yes screaming with anticipation. At one point there were even tears of excitement being shed over the Disney party.

Waiting in line with Grandma to buy a fairy wand, and waving our wand during the show. The wand was a hit and Kaylie even took it to bed with her last night. After she fell asleep I went in her room and took it out of her bed. Usually when Kaylie wakes up in the middle of the night she asks/cries for " mama". But not last night, she woke up and a asked for her wand....Seriously.



This isn't a great picture of the any of us, but heaven forbid we slow down for a minute to take a picture....Tinkerbell is inside.

Also, Kaylie sitting intently watching the show. She was riveted. She clapped. She danced. She waved. She shouted the characters names. She looked over to make sure Kate was doing the same thing. It was magical.

Thanks for inviting us to Disney, Kate!

Lastly, our tinkerbell all dressed an ready before the show. I am so pleased with this costume. Mostly because it was created the day before, in a nap time with clothing we already owned, $6 in supplies from the dollar store and Kaylie's yellow and green watercolor paints.

Sure beats a $20 dress up and driving all over town to try to find it.

Fab Freebie

I found this today online. A free 8x10 alphabet print from Kind Over Matter.

Just go to http://kindovermatter.blogspot.com/2010/02/freebie-alert-kind-over-matter-abc.html and you can get one of your very own in six colors to chose from. I always see things like this I like on etsy, but can never make the $15 commitment.

Simple. Graphic. Free

Perfect for the new little girl x 2 room I have been dreaming up lately.

BeanBox

Tired and bored of being inside - this cold weather is killing us- I was determined today to find something new to do inside. Luckily it is not hard to be inspired via the internet/bloggers, and saw this.... http://www.themotherhuddle.com/.

Easily replicated with $4 in dry beans and a trip to the Walmart, and perfect for a morning free of boredom. If I was thinking about it I would have grabbed some alphabet letters to hide in the "sand", but we are plenty entertained with hiding animals, and using kitchen utensils as "sand" toys.

And, well, making a mess too.

Added bonus - leftovers. Seems like a dreary day, perfect for taco soup.

Guys and Dolls

Saturday we took Kaylie to the pool in Kamas for the second time in the short time we have been in Utah. It is quite a drive just to go for a swim, but the pool is full of fun things for youngsters, and is warm enough ( 85') that it makes swimming with a blizzard outside not quite insane. That and the chance to meet up with Kate and Brielle, and Kaylie is in heaven.

And just in case you were wondering.... just because she is a Utahan once agian, doesn't mean she can't still swim like a Phoenix.

My littlest valentine

One of the best things about living right downtown.....there are 101 place to take a picture. I used to always be keeping my eyes open in phoenix for a single brick building, with the purpose of wanting to use it as a photograph background. There is probally a brick building in every color within 5 minutes of our home, perfect for photgraphing my littlest valentine in front of.

Another great thing....tons of little bakerys perfect for buying my littlest valentine a heart shaped treat.



Above Kaylie is telling me (incorrectly) that she is two years old. Not that I am going to teach her differently.

Hoping everyone a happy valentines!

We are ready?

We have a few months to go with this baby number two, but today after a doctors appointment, Jeff mentioned the fact that maybe it is time to start getting stuff ready. To which I answered "Aren't we already?"

Do little girls need anything more?

We made it to salt lake city, and are now residing in our fourth home in our daughters short 21 months. For being as particular of a personality as she is she seems to be adjusting better than I expected.

Does anyone elses two year old seems to be a little OC? She has little tantrums over things not being exactly right, not having a towel with a fish on it to get out of the bathtub, setting the table with the exactness of miss martha, finding peices of lint on the carpet and picking them out to throw away.....really you would think I would have a cleaner house.

But she has taken to the changes with flying colors...I guess after four moves, moving is routine for her.

Happy New, New, New - New Year

So what is it that is making the Carpenter family's new year so new...and happy?

The first new is a new job for Jeff. There were many things he loved about his old job at Troon ( like the golfing perks), but his new gig is better in a lot of ways too. The new company is a software company and his first day was new year's eve. The opportunity came really just hours before we were supposed to close on our new house here in phoenix. I have really just decided to not plan. You never know what is going to happen around here.

The second new thing is a new home/state for all of us. Back to Salt Lake City we are coming....it is where the new job is. It seems a little ridiculous to head back to four more months of winter when it is a beautiful 70' outside, but somehow that freeze just feels like home. We are sad for many reasons to be leaving ( I am sure there will be a longer post later about all of that), but also excited to see what downtown has to offer us, and for all the chances Kaylie will have to see her grandparents and cousins.

She looks happy about moving in this picture, but really she screams uh-oh, or no-no when anything gets put into a box, or taken of the walls.

The third new...and most exciting thing is the new baby. We have know for some time that we were soon going to be a family of four, but earlier this week we found out that it will be another sweet baby girl and really we couldn't be more thrilled. Although this pregnancy has been heads and tails different than the last ( a lot more time feeling green), I felt from the beginning that it was another girl. Or at least I have really wanted it to be another girl. My sisters are some of my favorite people and best friends, and I really wanted a relationship like that for Kaylie. That and baby girls are just sooooo sweet and everything of theirs is so much more cute.

To bad, we can never decide on a girl name. With each pregnancy from the beginning we have said if it is a boy we should name him....and we both agree. But when we try to think of names for little girls we couldn't disagree more.....any suggestions?

Kaylie's Christmas Top Ten

There were so many wonderful things about our Christmas this year I didn't know where to start so here is Christmas from Kaylie's perspective in top ten form.


#1 Cousins ... she doesn't usually have so many palymates at once, and was thrilled, especcially with all the big kids.





#2 Spending time with her great Grammy ... She came all the way from California for Christmas and all of us were really thrilled to spend some time with her. She is one of my favorite people in the enitre world and it was the best part of christmas for sure.




#3 Meeting uncle Craig .... he returned from his mission in Taiwan, and since Kaylie is not yet two, they haven't ever meet. Fun for the rest of us too, especcially since he seems well adjusted to real life already.





#4 The food .... She has been a picky eater lately ( not like herself), but with so many good things to eat, she was able to find something.




#5 Sledding/Snow ... before we could even tell her what it was ( this is the first time she can remember being in snow) , she announced "ice" and was off stomping through it in her boots.



#6 The Choo-choo .... Grandma Anderson had a choo choo in her basement, and whenever kay could break free she was headed down the stairs to check it out.






#7 All the animals ....I didn't get a picture of it, but her favorite thing was Grandma Georgia's kitty that she chased all around the house yelling "meow" at and making her cat hands, and lied on top of whenever she got the chance. Two new to her dogs and Toby made things good too.




#8 Some of her favorite presents... a sled form her aunt Carol ( which she sat in like a bed, and even got pulled around in the house with). A tinkerbell doll from her Grandparents Carpenter...she is also watching her Tink movie in this picture, another hit. And her little table from Grandparentes Anderson ( Kay has loved little tables ever since she started "school" and sometimes even sets the coffe table at dinner time so she can eat at a little table.

#9 "Chrithsmas" ... this is what Kaylie calls all the lights and decorations. She points them out wherever we go.




#10 Not Santa.... I am so glad I didn't waste me time taking her to see a Santa. He came to the Carp family party and when she walked into the room she said " Ho-ho-ho" and then procedded to scream at him.



Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas as well! What were your top ten.

Cheese for Thanksgiving

We had Thanksgiving at home this year. Jeff's parents and brother came down from UT to spend the holiday that included black friday shopping, a trip to zoo lights and of course a feast that the Luke family joined us for. We made enough food for like thirty people and have been eating thanksgiving day sandwiches....mmmm, my favorite, from the leftovers ever since. My favorite thing - Kaylie has decided this weekend that she will cooperate with pictures and even says " cheese"....hooray, I hope it last.

Kaylie has been wrapping her babies up in blankies and putting them to bed in the corner for a long time, but now she has taken it to a whole new level. She dumps all the toys out of their bins, wraps the babies in blankets, and them uses the bins as beds.

I thought it looked like a hospital nursery with alll the babies lined up in thier isolettes.

maybe not.....now it seems she is playing mortician.

Scroll down for more kaylie posts.