Kylie is Ten!

Another child has hit double digits and I'm not gonna lie, this one fills me with trepidation and awe.  Kylie has done a lot of growing up (she is getting tall too!) in the last year and though she is far from a teenager in years, she does not seem very far away at all in actions, attitude, and a whole lot of other ways -- and that scares me.  It ought to be fun!  Kylie was excited about this birthday as with all of her birthdays, but I don't think it was the event of the year for her. She just loves birthdays -her, her friends, her families, her friends grandma, her uncle's nephew etc. etc.  She likes to celebrate.  So maybe she was a BIT more excited about hers than some of the others on the list, but she is growing up and did tamper that excitement and dealt with it very maturely. 

Kylie continues to be our drama queen.  I think this is coming out more and more as she gets older and I think it is the part that I find the hardest to resonate with.  I don't do drama. She does it VERY WELL. So we don't always see eye to eye on things.  That is okay though.  

Drama seems to follow her wherever she goes - some good, some bad, some neither nor.  I think she may be the queen. Just a hunch.

Kylie and her "twin" doll that she got for her birthday.

Her imagination continues to be one of her best assets in my mind. She is rarely bored because she is good at dreaming something up. Also, if she is given a chore that she dislikes (which is all of them), I can usually use her good imagination to coerce her into making that job really fun - and she is usually up to the challenge and minutes later you will hear her chattering away about pioneers, or cashiers, or whatever it is she is pretending to be.  I love that.  

She is often found wandering the yard with a basket on her arm - sometimes completely alone, sometimes with Karter in tow.  She is always talking and has friends of all names and races and ages and origins.  Big right now are Hallie and Annie Parker (Parent Trap?!)

Most of her spare time (and friend time) is spent using her imagination.  She doesn't just play. She steps both feet in into whatever role and world she has chosen.  She is good! 

Sometimes this brings mocking from her elder brothers, and sometimes she ends up in tears, but I assure her that her imagination is a great, great gift and that she should never be ashamed of it.

I have been finding a lot of videos and selfies lately on cell phones and on my camera where she stars herself and has a youtube channel starring self.  It is humorous and funny and weird.  But! She can laugh at herself when we laugh at her - so far.

We have been hearing a LOT of sighing lately.  It kind of goes with the eye rolling but has a sound.  Hers often sounds like she is using a microphone.  She also ends a lot of her words with a big "uh" on the end of them. Like this "Kade- UH" "Mom-UH" "No-UH"  It is an exasperating and annoyed UH - not a lilting and pretty UH.  It goes with the sighs and eye rolls.  It makes her seem older than 10.  I hope it doesn't last till she turns 20.

Kylie loves her dolls. It goes in stages, but when they are "the item", they go everywhere with her. She dresses and undresses and changes and re-changes them and shares clothes with her friends and takes them to school and in the van and everywhere else.  It takes a bit longer to get ready in the morning before school because she not only has to dress herself, she also has to dress whomever is going to school with her that day - and sometimes it is more than one.  I'm glad she still plays with dolls and hope she does for a while yet!

Kylie loves clothes and shoes.  Especially if they are someone else's.  That is her favorite.  If she had a sister, I think they would probably fight over that! Thankfully her friends usually go along with it and don't give her any grief.

Kylie is a very thoughtful girl. She will think of people and do nice things for them without prompting.  She is also a hugger and loves to share hugs.

Kylie loves to be affirmed. Though she is mostly very confident, she loves to be told she is doing a good job.  I guess we all do really, but she glows when she is affirmed.  I recently wrote her a thank you note for helping with cleaning the house and doing the dishes and watching Konnor. It almost made her cry. Such a simple little thing, but it meant so much to her. She taped it to her mirror.  It was a good reminder to me to be generous with praise.

Kylie is getting to be a fabulous babysitter. I totally trust her to watch Karter and Konnor if I am busy.  She plays well with them and entertains them and is very watchful. She also will change diapers if necessary.  That in and of itself makes her the best babysitter in our family!  She is looking forward to when she can start babysitting for other people and she will be great. She is a big help when it is her turn at church and takes her role very seriously!

Kylie loves her friends and girl time and it is actually very good for her and important that she has it. Being in a family with all boys, she needs to have girl time and she loves to have friends over.  I am thankful for the many wonderful friends she has. Sometimes there is drama in her friendships, but she always loves them and forgets quickly if someone has offended her for whatever reason (probably b/c she didn't get her way . . .she is bossy like that . . . and so are some of her friends so a little conflict seems inevitable!)  

Kylie is a great story teller.  Sometimes she is so great, that fact and fiction get a little intertwined and I am not sure which is which. Actually I am not fooled so easy, but others are. Is it lying? Is it stretching the truth? Sometimes. But mostly I think it is just her imagination taking her places so real and so vivid that she figures it actually probably maybe could have happened.  But it didn't.  Sometimes.  So if you hear something radical from her - it might not be 100% true.  Just sayin'.

School is okay for Kylie. She does well. She is a good student and loves her teachers.  She does not like math and struggles with it. On the whole she is pretty conscientious. and I am looking forward to having a child that is concerned with studying for tests and that doesn't procrastinate til the last minute. She cares and wants to do a good job.  But she would rather stay home than go to school.  She loves days off and summer. She does not miss school when it is out.

Kylie loves girly things like shopping, getting her nails painted, putting fake nails on, high heels etc. etc.  Not really my favorite things, but because I am her only ally in this male dominant home, I acquiesce  - meaning that I let her wear high heels, I let her wear fake nails and I let her paint her nails - and once in a blue moon mine too.  I MIGHT, MIGHT, MIGHT wear high heels to her wedding though. It will likely be her favorite of all gifts and the ultimate statement of love.  

Kylie loves to sing. She has also been plinking away on the piano again lately. We took a break from lessons this year and it was a happy decision. But lately she has been sitting down at the piano a lot and actually making music. I think she likes to play by ear. She does not read notes well still.

Kylie enjoys sports but is certainly not passionate about them. She kind of just does them. She actually says she really wants to play baseball . . . but I'm not sure if that would be exciting for a long time or if that would just be "okay" after a while too. She does soccer in the summer and is part of our hockey program in the winter.  I think she has learned some valuable things though and it stretches her.

I mentioned earlier that Kylie does not like doing chores.  But every once in a while she will without any prompting or encouragement do a major power clean up and surprise us.  That is a much appreciated treat!

When she knows that she does have to do chores - then she likes a list. She likes to know what needs to be done and then she likes to cross things off until she is done.  

Kylie loves the pool and swimming. 

Kylie LOVES Adventures in Odyssey. She listens to it all the time. We got her a simple ipod for her birthday and filled it with Odyssey - mostly so we could listen to it in the van since our CD player no longer works. But she puts her earbuds in and listens to it everywhere she goes. It is a bit over the top, but I guess it is an okay thing to be a little over the top for.  

Kylie is not a huge reader, though she reads often. She likes to read, but I'm not sure she ever actually finishes books. I can't relate to that. I finish a book even if it is terrible . . . not sure why.  Her favorite part seems to be the opening. She has many books with bookmarks in them.

Kylie loves movies too. She is not particularly picky about what she watches. They are all good.

Kylie has fairly long hair right now. She does not want it cut. But we do have some unhappy moments at brushing time.  I love her hair long - but I think she should cut it and donate it. She is resolute that she will NOT do it. She is fine with a big trim, but that is all. She does love having it curled and made pretty . . . just not brushing the knots out.

Kylie is usually pretty easy going with how her hair is done, what she wears etc.  Lately she "hates braids" "those pants are itchy" "that shirt is too scratchy" etc. etc.  I think she will be picking out her own clothes for school soon . . . .I prefer to have harmony before 7am.
Kylie is not a morning person, but give her about 5 minutes and she will be.  She does not like getting out of bed when I wake her up, but she is usually really chipper by the time she gets on the bus.  She is always the first one to the breakfast table . . usually by a mile.
She is a night hawk. She does not ever fall asleep before 10pm, even though she goes to bed around 8:30. She reads, writes, plays, talks until fatigue eventually kicks in.

Kylie is not a picky eater. She is usually a very good eater actually . . but it is important to stay on top of which lunch trend she is on.  If we get it wrong, it is not good.  It is usually a bagel with cream cheese or butter, or brown sugar on bread.  She does not love packed lunches. She is a great eater at home though.

Kylie is still her Dad's little girl. She can usually finagle things to work her way by appealing to Daddio.  This does not always bode well for her brothers . . .b /c Kylie often wins - rightly or wrongly, but she works it well. She can use tears when necessary and volume when necessary - whatever it takes.  She's her Papa's princess. But when a dad only has one girl . . . you can hardly blame him. Hardly.

One of Kylie's special friendships is Arianna - our Fresh Air Child from New York. A special bond was created when they met last year and they talk on the phone often still. We (and Kylie especially) are really looking forward to her coming back and building on that relationship. For Kylie it is having a sister for a few weeks and she loves that idea. 

By now it is fairly obvious that this girl is a character filled with character.  She has much to give and gives much.  She is a beautiful girl - inside and out. She is not perfect. She does not always make sense to me. She sometimes clashes wonderfully with me. But she is our Kylie and are we ever thankful that she is in our family!

We have a bit of a joke in our family: Kylie asks to pray before and after pretty much every meal. Jonathan's line for her (to which we get an eye roll every time) is that, "No, you pray too long".  It's a joke. We know there is no such thing . . . but she does have some grand conversations with God. All joking aside, we love that. There is no greater thing than listening to your child talk to God and have meaningful conversations with Him.  Kylie - keep praying and talking to God. Anytime! All the time!

Our prayer for you and all our children is that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That you will desire His glory above your own. It is more popular to think of self and what we want, but we want to encourage you to think first of all of Jesus, then about others, and lastly about yourself. It is hard.  It is unnatural, but it is right.  Make this your challenge.

Kylie we love you so much. You bring a much different flavour into our family than what your brothers bring and it is a good taste.  We can't imagine life without our little (not so much) girl. 
So to our only daughter - Happiest of Birthdays. May God bless you with MANY more years.
We love you.