Lately....

Grrr! I'm so frustrated, my camera won't let me upload pictures! Or the computer won't. I'm not sure which. The USB port, I think, because our webcam isn't working either, which means no Skype. LAME! I have actually been remembering to take a few What I Wore Wednesday and Small Style pics and can't use them! We also have other fun trips and such that are stuck in my camera!! Hopefully that gets resolved soon.....

Wow, midway through October already! Once Halloween hits in our family, the time goes into warp speed, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and before you know it, Baby Jakiah will be here!! That is crazy! I'm feeling really good these days, but bigger and bigger. I swear, I'm going to outgrow maternity clothes that fit me all the way up last pregnancy....maybe because he's a boy, maybe because it's the 2nd pregnancy, who knows why? I know part of it is that I am carrying him a little different than Kalaya too. Other than getting bigger and feeling lots and lots of movement from this little guy, I feel totally normal. Appetite is fine, sleeping pretty well, etc. I know that sleep may be affected soon, he's getting bigger and as a tummy sleeper (sigh...), I know my days are limited....I've been padding with more and more pillows, which is helping for now.

Kalaya is busy busy these days! We just started swim lessons last night and she LOVES them. She is probably the oldest in the class (it's the baby and me style), but it's perfect for her. She follows the teachers' directions exactly and gets so into it. I hope to post pics soon! It's a fun time for the three of us.

We went to the pumpkin patch on Sunday, again, hopefully will post pics soon! I can't believe this is already our THIRD YEAR of the pumpkin patch/Halloween and that next year we will be visiting as a family of four. Crazy! We went with two of her little friends and they had a blast. I scored her Halloween costume at a consignment store last week and it is sooooooo cute! I can't wait to show pics. And, it is really nice and warm and was really inexpensive! I'll do a special WIWW for Halloween. Stay tuned!

It's funny. I just posted last week about co-sleeping and literally the next day, she requested to sleep in 'Kalaya's bed'. I think a big part of it is that I finally got her room in order, and bought some new things to decorate it. (again, ANOTHER pic I want to post....as well as more 'after' pictures of the house!) I have been trying to avoid licensed characters as long as I can, but decided to cave and decorate her room with Sesame Street stuff, because I knew she'd want to spend more time on it. Again, pics will (hopefully!) be posted soon! But, she has started sleeping in her own bed, every night, with no problems. She did roll off the end her very first night, but it barely phased her and she was fine. Don't know if it will last, but it seems to be okay. We are SO glad we let her decide on her own when to do this. There's more room in our bed now, which is nice, but she will always be welcome back if she changes her mind.

We have been working on potty training much more than we have in the past. Since we're finally settled in (and most of our house is laminate, not carpeted....), I've been trying the 'diaper free' method. Everyone I know who tried this raved about it and said it was quickly a success. Well....not the case yet at our house. The point of no diaper is, of course, to let them learn to feel what it feels like when they have to go. That is not a problem for Kalaya, she gets that. She literally holds it all day, until the pull up goes on at nap or bed time and then goes almost immediately, reports to me and wants to be changed. She seems to just be being stubborn, we're not sure why. She will sit on the potty no problem, for extended periods of time, but not go in it. She loves watching 'Elmo's Potty Time' and totally gets all of the concepts, but...nothing yet. It is tiring, but I know we'll get there.

The house FINALLY is starting to feel like home. The inside is pretty much in order. Everything is put up, put away, organized, etc. There are a few more pieces of furniture we'd like to add over time, but for the most part, we're about there. We still need to order and install blinds and curtains, but everything else is about done. Because of the plumbing issue I posted about, we can no longer afford to upgrade our half bath to a full at this point. I'm disappointed, but I'm choosing to focus on the fact that we had the money to pay for the problem we had, rather than having to go in debt for it. Maybe if tax return time is good to us, we'll upgrade then. Though, I think we're going to try to find a way to purchase a second car (mini van baby!!) because we are going to need it!! We'll see. At this point, here are all of the things we have done or had done to the house: professional cleaners, painted all walls, doors, trim and ceilings, repaired large hole in living room wall, replaced family room carpet, paid a LOT to have a working washer and dryer, replaced all indoor thresholds, replaced flooring in laundry area, removed dead tree from back yard, had very large tree in front yard professionally pruned, attacked 4 foot tall weeds in front yard, fixed garage door opener, changed water dispenser/ice maker filter in fridge, had all ducts professionally cleaned, replaced light switches, had multiple electrical stuff done, furnace cleaned and serviced, had exterminators out to get rid of yellow jackets in crawl space (3 times...), had roof repaired, and replaced all gutters. We are still: having the gas powered wood stove (you read that correctly) serviced before we use it (today), having drywall put up over the large hole from the washing machine repair (tomorrow), having a french drain and trench put in the backyard to keep runoff from going under the house (Saturday), and ordering and installing mini blinds on all the windows. WHEW!!! Thank you very, very much to my parents for letting us live with them to save up, as well as my aunt and grandparents for some gifts along the way. Otherwise we would be up to our eyeballs in dept! Even with ALL this stuff, we still got an incredible deal on this house, I swear!!

Kalaya's Flower Girl Debut

Oh my goodness. I have always wanted a girl and Saturday was the epitome of why. (Kalaya, if you eventually come to realize you were born in the wrong body, I appologize for all of the gushy girliness)

Our friends from college, David and Kim got married at a vineyard in Dallas, Oregon this weekend and it was beautiful. Nelson was a groomsman and Kalaya was the flower girl.

Kim asked me if Kalaya could be the flower girl earlier this year and I was SO excited and immediately said yes! It was so fun to shop for the dress and accessories. Then, as the day approached, I began to wonder what I had gotten Kalaya into. She is pretty timid and very shy in front of people she doesn't know, especially large crowds. But, we figured anything would be cute!

The rehearsal dinner was last Thursday and it did NOT go well. We tried to get her to walk down the aisle 3 different times, from me to Nelson. The first time she refused. The second time Nelson held a bribe (cheese stick) out to her and she started to go to him. Then, everyone watching applauded and she freaked out and cried for 20 minutes. The last time she wouldn't even think about it. So, we were pretty nervous for Saturday, especially since the wedding was during nap time and she would have already had to take a bunch of pictures as well.

She got up really early on Saturday, which actually worked out well, because she took an earlier nap. We got to the wedding site and got her all dressed up. Here she is admiring her pretty self in the mirror of the bridal room.


She posed for pictures relunctantly and only when we bribed her with (organic, sugar free) fruit snacks. (yup, I was kind of 'that parent'. Hey, it was better than the ring bearer who got bribed with M&Ms!!) She didn't smile much and wasn't too thrilled, but she did it. Luckily, she was totally in love with the junior bridesmaid, Cassie, and wanted to follow her every where. Cassie even managed to teach her to throw the petals out of the basket, something we NEVER thought we could get her to do, even in practice.

Practicing with Cassie

Sorta willing to pose for a picture....

Then, the big moment. She did great!!! She threw all of the flowers out of the basket and walked to Daddy, with only a guiding hand from Mommy. She was smiling and happy and did MUCH better than we thought she would. It was so sweet!! When I get a copy of the video, I'll definitely post it!!

Getting ready to walk to Daddy...

Elmo crackers for motivation....okay bribe....

Alright, some help from Mommy was necessary

And she definitely wasn't going to walk out on her own!

She was rewarded with an Elmo balloon at the reception. She did SO well. She was great at the reception too, even though were were at the site for over 6 HOURS!!!

Such a fun day!!!

Had to throw this one in: check out the socks the groomsmen wore under their tuxes!!
PS The bride and Kalaya both wore red shoes with their white dresses : )

Kalaya's 2nd Birthday

It's almost a month after Kalaya's 2nd birthday and I FINALLY feel like I can post about it, since it got stretched out a bit. Let's see, looking back, where to begin....

We gave Kalaya her 'big' present from Mommy and Daddy on the night before her birthday. We had plans for the whole day on the 6th (her actual birthday), so we wanted to make sure to give her the present. She got a Cozy Coupe car that looks like a firetruck that she LOVES. The best part is that it was free to us, we got it as a hand me down and it is still in great shape!

Her actual birthday actually wasn't much fun. She was up throwing up at 4am, poor girl! She didn't keep anything down during the morning and afternoon. We had planned a fun day of going to the Children's museum with our friends and a special birthday dinner, since 3 members of our 2 families have birthdays within 2 weeks of each other in May. She was also supposed to have her 2 month check up, but threw up all over herself in the car on the way, so we rescheduled. I think she actually had a pretty good day despite the vomit, because she got to sit and watch plenty of Elmo to keep her in one place, incase of another incident.

She was feeling much better the Saturday after, so we had dinner with my parents to celebrate her birthday and Mother's Day together, with dinner at Red Lobster. My parents got her a really cute sand and water table that she's been having a lot of fun with. (even if it has been staying in the garage, because Oregon is just ignoring the fact that it's spring, let alone almost summer!!)

We did get to go to dinner with our friends a week later, on Nelson's birthday. We went to PF Chang's. Here are the girls getting ready to go celebrate both daddies and Kalaya's birthdays.

We had a small party at our church, which was basically a glorified playdate with just a couple of families, snacks and cake. Everything was bunny themed and it was a nice, quiet, simple party. We had nice weather, so the kids were able to play outside on the playground and patio.

We also celebrated her birthday down in Salem with Nelson's family.

She got some really nice gifts; the car, the sand table, sand toys, lots of new clothes, new shoes, musical instruments, a veterinary kit, a tee, bat and ball, golf clubs, a toy to practice her letters, and new shoes. (probably more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head!)

First Haircut

On Saturday Kalaya had her first haircut! In the islander culture, they usually don't cut little girl's hair (other than shaving it all of when they're babies to make it grow back thicker) and Kalaya is 1/4 islander, so we let it go for awhile. But, it was REALLY getting long and tons of uneven layers and the bangs were getting in the way all the time. Plus, it was just wild and I wanted to be able to get away with letting her just wear it down. We wanted to save the length as much as we could, because she looks so cute with pigtails and pony tails.

We went to this really fun place for kids and it was great! She did so well and just loved it. I can't believe how much older she looks with just a hair cut! She really looks like a little girl now and it will look so nice for Easter.

Who wouldn't want to get their hair cut in a pink Jeep??


Getting ready...


AND she got to watch Elmo!! Pretty sweet deal. (you can really see how long her hair had gotten!)


First cut of those baby locks....she had those in my womb!!


This one is SO sweet!


All done! Such a big girl!


Little baby locks! (don't worry, we saved a few!)

We also took a trip to see the Easter Bunny, which she was really excited about, but not quite enough to get on his lap.

23 Months

I wonder how I will keep up with posting about milestones after the 2nd birthday? I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll just keep going as I am. Or maybe add 2 years, ___ months. Or, I've thought about having "Toddler Tuesday" or "Family Friday" posts to keep up with Kalaya's newest events. (gotta keep those great-aunt readers happy!)

I can't believe it's been 2 years since this:

(man, I miss being pregnant!! I loved having that baby belly!!)

I have been saying ever since she was born that Kalaya is a baby until she turns 2. But I didn't know it would get here so quickly!!!

She really isn't a baby any more. I know that. She is a go, go, go toddler! And, she's such a joy and a delight. She is so interested in so many things, so curious and so full of words to describe and talk about everything around her! I don't know what the average amount of words is for a 2 year old and frankly, I don't need to know. Her vocabulary ASTOUNDS me. This child points out octagons that she sees in public. She strings 3-4 word sentences together from out of the blue about things she hasn't seen in weeks. She remembers things from books when she sees them out of context and identifies them. It is crazy to me and so amazing.

Those 2 year old molars have started showing up! It's hard to know how many, even though we brush, and now floss, her teeth twice a day. She's not crazy about letting me look in the back of her mouth. But, last night I felt the first 2 year old molar and wrote it in the baby book. This led to almost tears, because I realized the 2 year molars are the last set recorded in the baby book!! I had suspected the teeth were coming soon, because she started gnawing on her fingers a lot about 3-4 weeks ago, which is what she has done prior to all other teeth. This is IT though until the 6 year old molars, thank goodness!! This child has been teething since she was 3 months, poor thing!

Speaking of teeth, she had her first dental visit this month. We had been told wait until they are 3, but then at her 18 month check up, her pediatrician mentioned that our insurance had pediatric dental coverage, so why not? Kalaya did really well, only fussing during the counting of her teeth and mainly because she was flat on her back with her mouth held open. (even though she was laying in my lap) The dentist was wonderful, very gentle, quiet and we could tell she has tons of experience with little ones. Maybe things will be better in another 6 months!

I am so proud to be Kalaya's mommy. She is SO well behaved in public, when we go any where. She is sweet and friendly, though cautious. She waves and gives friendly 'hi!'s, fist bumps and high fives to anyone, once she gets the go from us. She listens very well when redirected (though there are exceptions near nap/bedtime or in times of hunger) and is very obedient. We get compliments on her behavior, her vocabulary and how cute she is EVERYwhere we go.

At home, we (especially me, since I'm at home with her) are starting to see some 'terrible two' behavior, but it's really not too bad. We have to have occasional time outs and do a lot of practicing of 'yes mommy or daddy' instead of saying no. She says no just to say it, usually when she doesn't even mean it. It's usually pretty easy to ignore and redirect.

Eating and sleeping are going really well most days. She does not have a huge number of foods that she loves, but she has plenty of choices and all of them are pretty healthy. And fairly boring, but that's okay. She's not a big meat eater or whole pieces of fruits or veggies. However, if I puree things and mix them with pasta, rice, oatmeal, yogurt or spread them on bread or crackers, I can get her to eat most things. She is also a big dairy lover, especially cheese. She loves crackers as well, but I haven't found any kinds of juice she likes. Just milk and water.

Naptime and bedtime go pretty smoothly and quickly most days. We're thinking about transitioning her to her own room (if she's ready) if we get this new house. She sleeps well from about 8pm-6am and then will cuddle nap until 7:30 or later, so it should work out fine. We're going to transition slooooowly, so as not to overwhelm her with too many changes after the move. Naps are usually around 1 1/2 hours or so, mid-afternoon. I love that we're not on a rigid schedule of times, because it means that our days are very flexible and she adjusts pretty easily.

I've been putting off planning the 2nd birthday party, because we're hoping to do it in our NEW house if we get it. (still waiting for the bank to approve the repairs we requested be included in the price) It will likely be house warming/Memorial Day/Nelson and Kalaya's birthday get together, just advertised as house warming, so that people won't feel obligated to bring gifts. It will be very low key, as far as the actual birthday part, since she's 2 and won't remember it any way.

Next post like this will be for a TWO YEAR OLD!!

22 Months

In such a short period of time, we'll reach that 2 year mark. Do I have to stop measuring her age in months after that?? Or do I have to say '2 years, __ months'. Sigh.....the little heart breaks of being a mother....

For the most part, 22 months is a fantastic age at our house. It means non stop chatter and the discovery of multiple new words every day. I have BEYOND lost track of all the words my daughter can say. Maybe if I was a better mother, I would carry a pad of paper at all times to write them down, but I'm not and I don't mind it one bit.

Let's see....Kalaya can repeat back the entire alphabet (and requests 'ABCs!!!!' about 50 times a day) and count with someone to 10. I've caught her saying around 10 letters in a row on her own. She can identify M and N out of context and sometimes O. She knows square, circle, triangle, rectangle, diamond, oval, heart, and star out of context. Yesterday this child even said octagon, which literally left me speechless. She repeats back almost everything you say to her or around her. (We are being VERY careful with our language these days) She is saying 3-4 word sentences about absolutely everything!

She has the funniest interests. She is still SO into Elmo and everything associated with Sesame Street, which I don't think is going to change any time soon. It is crazy how Elmo attracts this age. She's had some books with Elmo and other characters for a long time. She learned the word Elmo from these books awhile back and it totally stuck with her. Then, my GENIUS husband decided one day to show her this video and she was forever hooked. What is it about him?? I mean, I like Elmo as much as the next gal, but it is amazing how toddlers are drawn to this little red monster with the cute little voice. She started demanding Elmo at the computer at all times, which quickly had to end. We compromised by downloading the song on iTunes, which still lead to a demand for Elmo at the computer. If you look at the amount of times that most songs are listened to on our computer, it's around 30 or so for the most listened to (mainly Glee songs). Elmo's Song has been played 2083 times. I am not making this number up. We just put it on repeat and ignore it.

Anyway, I had always said my kids wouldn't watch TV before 2 and I still think that's a good rule. However, she LOVES him so much we decided she can watch the "Elmo's World" section of Sesame Street once or twice on Sat mornings and not back to back. (it's about 15-20 min long) We figured, at least it's educational, right? (see, this is why you NEVER decide things about parenting before you have kids!!!) Anyway, the obsession has only increased and now includes Abby, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, etc. She can seriously spot Elmo in stores from 50 yards away, it is incredible. He has been a saving grace for distraction and motivation though: when we or she have been sick, watching Elmo has saved the day. We have him on her toothbrush and a stuffed Elmo for bed time, both of which have made those activities much easier. She has Elmo big girl underwear waiting for the right time. For our trip on the plane next week, I raided the dollar bins at Target and got TONS of distractions featuring Sesame Street. I also reserved several DVDs at the library to watch on the portable DVD player on the plane. And, thanks to family members, she now has plenty of clothes and toys that have to do with Elmo.

It is so neat to see her become her own little person with her own interests. Currently, bunnies are at the top of the list. Her favorite books all involve bunnies. She is especially a fan of Goodnight Moon and I Am a Bunny. She loves all things bunnies that we see, which is really fun right now with all of the Easter stuff in stores. I'm especially looking forward to her Easter basket and maybe a trip to meet the Easter bunny. She also really likes lights. That sounds so strange, but she's so interested in lights turning on and off and gets SO excited and squeals when either one happens! We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner last night and all she did was point out all the different types of lights and fixtures. (they have a LOT of different styles and colors) She loves to color and I'm excited to start doing more crafts with her. She loves balloons and gets so excited if she sees one. The lines at the grocery store are almost too much some times. : )

She is so independent these days, I can't believe it some times. It's usually pretty easy to redirect, just ignoring a no or practicing saying 'yes' instead. She does get stubborn and 'no' is definitely the way she proves her independence. It's often when I know she doesn't mean it, so it's fairly easy to ignore. And it's usually only when she's getting tired or hungry. And, it's usually only around the house. She is SO well behaved when we go out and about, whether to play dates, out to eat, or to a store. We get compliments every where on how sweet and friendly she is, how cute she is, how well behaved and amazement at all the words she says.

Bed time has become SO much better. Daylight savings may have helped, but it was getting better for a couple of weeks before that. We really try to stick to our routine and now she's going down around 8:15 within about 20 minutes and more often on her own than with one of us. She sleeps well through the night and still will sleep in most mornings. (please, please, don't let me just have jinxed myself) She takes about 6 friends to bed with her, plus a very specific blanket and pillow. Our bed is now crowded with 2 bears, 2 babies, Elmo, a 'quack quack' (penguin), and a snowman.

Favorite toys these days still include books, hats, cars and Little People, all stuffed animals, babies, her tool kit, play food, her kitchen, anything Elmo, and mirrors. She will talk to herself in the mirror endlessly, it's hilarious!

21 Months

How am I ever going to remember to keep up blogs about 2 kids some day when I can't even get around to one?? (no, I'm not pregnant or trying, just thinking about my mom friends with multiple kids who manage to post every day!!)

Anyway, 21 months is a fun, fun age. Kalaya's language skills are beyond description. You really have to hang out with her to get the full effect. And, it has to be once she is comfortable. She is so much like her daddy in that way. At home, she has a running dialogue from morning until night. She talks to mommy, daddy, the doggies, her bear, her babies, the chairs, her kitchen, the bath tub, you name it!! She babbles and sings in the car, the stroller, the high chair, the play room and the pack and play. Her memory astounds me and it is so amazing to see her become this wonderful, adorable person, so curious and fascinated by the world around her. She loves so many things and gets so excited about so much!

Some favorites right now are pretending to cook, shopping with her shopping cart, taking care of babies, feeding babies in the Bumbo, eating crackers, cheese, apple sauce, oatmeal, broccoli or yogurt (and a lot more), taking baths and showers, reading, especially any book that contains, Elmo, Abby or bunnies, running around aimlessly, chasing the doggies, dragging the doggies leashes around, going for walks, going to the park, bubbles, coloring with crayons and on her magna doodle thingy, taking things out of the pantry, drinking milk, throwing tennis balls and toys for the doggies, playing with flashlights, chasing the doggies around with towels and blankets to make them go 'night night', putting babies, bears, any toys night night, looking at pictures of family and friends, saying night night to family members and friends, looking for birds, quack quacks, cats and doggies, singing about her tummy, tummy, tummy, reading books about and singing the ABCs, taking pictures, her Elmo slippers and Elmo washcloth, begging to go 'ouside', playing horsie with Daddy, looking at and smelling 'pitty fwowers' (flowers), riding in the car, going to church (which means we get to church and she exclaims TOYS! to go into the nursery), demanding music from the computer or Daddy's phone, sneaking off and figuring out how to call people on Mommy and Daddy's phones, sitting on the potty and immediately demanding a 'book', playdates with Elena, looking at the photo Christmas cards we will have to keep up until next December so we can talk about Connor, Chloe, Allie and Elena, wearing her 'anta' hat around and saying 'ho ho ho', taking every puzzle piece and small toy in the house and carrying them around in her pumpkin trick or treat bucket, looking at picture of herself and saying 'kalaya pitty', pillows, blankets, wearing lots of necklaces and bracelets, wearing 'pitty' tutus, washing her hands, talking to her cousin on Skype, helping mommy by closing the dryer, pushing to buttons on the dryer, dishwasher, and garage door, putting her dishes away from the dishwasher, taking clean dishes out of drawers and cupboards to put in the dishwasher and all over the house, and more things I can't think of off the top of my head. She's a busy girl!

Things we do not like right now: having time outs, not being able to go outside, eating a meal (we have to call it a 'nack' most days and then she'll eat no problem), and bed time.

:::sigh::: Bed time has become a real issue in our house. Nap time isn't a problem, as far as going to sleep, but, well, I guess I should look back a bit.

Kalaya has never been able to fall asleep on her own, other than in the car. We took the advice of many people and tried putting her down early, before she was exhausted and without soothing. That didn't work. At all stages of life, she'd either immediately scream (including in the hospital, as a newborn, ALWAYS), or lay and babble to herself until she got over tired on her own and then would then proceed to freak out. Even if she was nursed or rocked completely to sleep, she'd wake up much sooner than any other baby we knew.

Around one year old, she started sleeping through the night. Before that, went to sleep on her own (starting around 9 months. before that, she was nursed to sleep), by laying down with mommy or daddy. She'd wake once or twice at night to nurse and then go right back to sleep. At a year, she slept with Nelson only for a couple of nights to learn not to wake up to nurse, which she did so easily and without much complaint. She nurses now only before 9pm or after 6 am, unless she is sick. This has gone really well for months and then has changed in the last couple of weeks. Once she's asleep, she sleeps great, usually for about 10 straight hours, wakes up to nurse briefly and then for another 2-3 hours. She then takes a nap in the afternoon, usually 1-1 1/2 hours, which she goes down for in the pack n play on her own, with no soothing from anyone. She sometimes fusses for less than 5 minutes, usually talks to herself for a little bit and then goes to sleep on her own.

The problem is getting her to sleep at night.

She used to lay quietly for only 10-20 minutes next to one of us and drift quietly off to sleep. She'd then sleep through the night, as described above. She would go down around 8:30 or so, sleep until 6 (when Nelson gets up), nurse, and sleep until 8:30 or 9, often even later.

Now, on many nights, (though not all) bed time is a screaming battle. If one of us lays in there with her, she either talks and babbles to us or we have to pin her down screaming. If we leave her alone in the pack n play, she screams for 2-3 hours. She FORCES herself to stay awake. She bites her fingers, stares into the night light, keeps herself on her back (she really tends to only fall asleep on her tummy), makes herself keep sitting up or rolling over. We've tried the cry it out and yes, she falls asleep. For maybe 30 minutes. And, that's after 2 hours of crying. Then she cries for another hour. Night after night after night. She has been finally going to sleep around 11pm. Yes, she sleeps until late the next day, but she's so off. I've tried forcing her to get up earlier, but that's a disaster too. Then, she needs a morning nap and is still cranky the rest of the day.

The other detail that has to do with this is nap time. She still needs a nap. Every afternoon, she is definitely fussy and tired. Some days, nap time and bed time are no problem. We can't figure it out. Some afternoon, she takes an hour nap and then goes to bed without a hitch. But, some days, it's like she doesn't get tired until 4:30 or 5 and then it's too late for a nap. Yes, we've tried (eek!) assuming that she's outgrowing naps and just kept her up, but then she falls asleep in the early evening (usually in the high chair), we put her to bed and then she wakes up an hour or so later, wide awake, thinking she's had a nap and is ready to play and not tired in the least. We've tried keeping her up a little later, with no nap, which yes, means she goes to bed fine, but it is a miserable last couple of hours, because she's so tired. She has never been a kid that 'catching her before she's exhausted' works. I've seen those babies who just fall asleep while playing, go to sleep on their own after babbling, etc. She's only like that for nap time. NEVER for bedtime. The only way is in the car and we can't afford the gas to do that every night. : /

I know it will get better. It's just a phase. It always is. It's just making us dread every evening and question every nap. I know we'll get back to normal. IT'S JUST A PHASE. (I'm trying to convince myself)

Did I mention that in the middle of all this we're pretty sure those 2 year molars are trying to push their way through AND that she has a cough and stuffy nose?? Sigh again....

Other than that, she is a joy and a pleasant toddler. I (still!) love being a stay at home mom and being a part of each and every day of her life!

20 Months (plus a week)

Miss Kalaya gets more grown up and independent every day. She keeps changing and I'm amazed how many new words and sentences come out of her mouth. I have lost track of all the new words she has learned, because there are so many new ones each day. We're definitely at the point where she'll repeat back almost any word you ask of her.

One new word that we tried SO HARD not to teach her (and didn't) has finally been learned. :::sigh::: And with that words comes a more independent attitude. You guessed it, the word is no.

It's very frustrating for us, because we have avoided using the word her entire life. And then, one week of living with my dad.....and she's saying it. I asked and asked him not to say it around her, to her, etc and he thought I was crazy. Next thing you know, she's saying it all the time. Grrr.... (incase you're wondering, we didn't tell her not to do things, we just had a different sound for no and for redirection. It's hard to say over a blog, but we would say 'ah ah ah, we don't do that' or something similar)

We've tried different approaches to handling it. For extreme nos, such as saying it after being asked to or not to do something, there have been timeouts. And believe me, she knows that it's not nice to say no to someone asking you to do something. More recently though, we've switched to just ignoring it. She reacted a lot more negatively when she got a reaction from us. So, we're focusing on praise and not giving the opportunity to answer no. And when she does, we mostly ignore it and act as though she didn't say it. As she gets older, we'll get more specific. The nice thing is that she really seems to be saying it, just because she can. It's very funny sometimes, especially when she's telling the dogs no when they're doing something they're not supposed to. I'm okay with that one. : )

It's such a minor thing now, because she's learned so many other nice words. She's saying love you, please and thank you, all of which warm my heart every time. She says them in the sweetest ways at the sweetest times. She will roll over in the morning, kiss me to wake me up and say nurse? mama? pease? She says other things that crack us up. A couple of days ago, I opened her diaper and said, "Did you go poop?" and she answered, "I poop" which was hilarious. And hey, it's one step closer to potty training! Another favorite new word is 'yuck' because she always says it when we're eating some kind of dessert. Well trained! (and no, we're not going to outlaw sweets her whole life. We know that we'll just make them taboo and make her want them more. But, we're going to avoid them as long as we can....)

Her favorite thing to do during the day is play with the 3 crazy dogs at our house. Yup, THREE! My parents' dog, our dog and my brother's dog. And yes, they're all dachshunds! They're all really good with her and gentle and play so well with her and each other. She throws the tennis balls all over the place (she's got a heck of an arm for 20 months!) and they chase it and she laughs and laughs. She is very insistent on their walk every day. About 3:30 every day, she starts dragging their leashes around, talking about coats and shoes and asking where Oma is so we can go. She can say all their names and loves the 'doggies'.

She plays so independently so well, it just amazes me. Of course, our playroom full of Christmas presents may be a big help. She LOVES to play with all her babies and stuffed animals. She puts them in the Bumbo and feeds them and gives them cups. She puts them 'nigh nigh' over and over again. She cooks in her kitchen and shops with her grocery cart. One of her favorite games is to take her shopping cart to the pantry and kitchen drawers and fill it up. Poor Oma and Grandpa, they're so tolerant of all the things around their house! Another thing she likes is to play with recyclables. (is that a word?) My mom has a large bag with (washed) plastic containers and cardboard stuff for her 'invention center' in her kindergarten class and Kalaya loves to play with those too.

Another favorite activity that she wants to do over and over is look at pictures of people she knows and loves. We look at mommy, daddy, auntie, unkah, gampa, oma, gamma, alla (her cousin), lena (her best friend), mara (another cousin) and emmm (another cousin) over and over again.

Eating is so different from even a couple of months ago! I had decided I had a picky eater, even though I had done everything 'right' to avoid that situation. (nothing like better than becoming a parent to find out you know nothing!!) She is eating so many foods now and her tastes are expanding. She eats anything dairy, any kind of grain, lots of vegetables and some fruits. She does well with beans and rice. She is not a big meat eater. I've tried different forms, but it usually has to be a puree hidden in something else. I am a BIG fan of Deceptively Delicious, not because I think you should always make sure your kids like the food they eat, but because it's a great way to always add nutrition to your kids' meals. I've frozen veggies, meats and fruits in muffin tin and ice cube sizes, so I can always add more nutrition or food groups to a meal. For example, if I know we're going out to dinner at a place (like Red Robin) where we can get her something with a sauce (aka spaghetti or mac and cheese) I bring a couple of 'food cubes' to mix in, such as pureed carrot for the marinara sauce or pureed squash for the cheese sauce. She will eat almost any combination mixed in with cheese, spread on bread or over pasta. I still make a lot of toddler snacks, crackers, etc, which I get either online or in the book Baby Super Food. She likes so many plain things that surprise me: plain yogurt, plain oatmeal, (bit size) shredded wheat, crackers, cottage cheese, water and veggies without anything added to them. She has recently discovered hummus and gobbles it up!

19 Months

Well, Kalaya is officially closer to two than one! (insert generic 'I can't believe how fast it's going!' comment, because it's still true!) She is a busy, active toddler, but is such a pleasure. I hear stories over and over again about how challenging this age can be and I feel just the opposite. (well, about 90% of the time I do) She is so easy going and does such a great job of entertaining herself. She is a curious kid, but not to the point where she is mischievous and devious. She listens so well when we ask her not to do something or to do something.

Her list of words grows every day, it just amazes me! Some recent new words are: house, home, Pippy, milk, Elena (her BFF), circle, baby, Elmo, orange, eyes, nose, apple, banana, mouth, auntie, pillow, down, coat, hat, lunch, breakfast, potty, thank you (sometimes), horse, fish, and more that I can't think of right now. She knows where many body parts are, including; eyes, ear, mouth, hair, nose, feet, tummy, hand, teeth and tongue. She knows different animal sounds, including; duck, bear, cow, cat, snake, horse and Elmo. (he says 'la la la', incase you didn't know. Look up 'Elmo's Song' on YouTube for proof) She will say almost anything back to you that you model for her, so we have to be VERY careful of the words we choose these days! : )

I think she's going through a growth spurt. She's eating and sleeping really well and her 18 month clothes are getting smaller and shorter. She has (finally) turned into a pretty good eater and is eating most of the things that we eat and put in front of her. She has started eating some fruit (it only took 18 months!!!), but still in small amounts. The nice thing is that if she doesn't want to eat something, 9 times out of 10 I can just blend it in the magic bullet and she'll down it, especially if it's spread on bread. She does a really good job of feeding herself these days, even with a fork and spoon. She's fairly neat about it, as far as toddlers go. : )

People keep telling me what a handful this age is, and I totally disagree. Yes, she's mobile and learning to be independent, but she is very easy going. Maybe it's because she was a high needs infant/newborn, but this seems really, really easy. (aaaand, I just jinxed myself : ) She listens so well, unless she is super hungry or tired, but even then, does better than most toddlers. We tend to only have to redirect her once or twice when we don't want her to do something and then the behavior changes. And, I just don't mean once or twice in that situation. I mean at all. For example, when she first became mobile, she was very interested in my parent's stairs. We had to tell her not to climb them a couple of times and had to do a few time outs, but it was only in the very beginning. Now, she knows not to go over there, even without baby gates, and without redirecting. (it's been several months now) Same with drawers and cupboards she's not supposed to get into and things she's not supposed to touch, such as breakables and the TV.

If redirecting doesn't work, a time out solves the problem. I'm convinced that toddler nursing is a contributing factor to her behavior. It calms, soothes and redirects her if she is frustrated, sad, mad, hurt, tired, hungry, etc. It's so convenient and such an easy way to solve any situation.

But, honestly, most of the time she just plays and explores calmly. She loves to sit and read her board books, try on dress ups, push her baby in the stroller, go for walks with the dogs, look through kitchen drawers, play with her trucks and hang out. We have very relaxed days together, sleeping in a bit, eating breakfast almost all on her own, usually a shower together (which she LOVES), play time, lunch, nap, playtime, walk the dogs, dinner, play time, bath (if she didn't join me in the morning), and bedtime. She really only throws fits if she's overly tired or hungry and those are fairly easy to prevent. Signing is still really helpful, since it helps distinguish between words that sound the same.

Her nighttime sleep habits are so pleasant now. She goes down for bed pretty easily and quickly, usually around 8 and sleeps all night until around 7 or 8. She often wakes up just to have a morning nurse and then will sleep another hour or so. Very nice for mom! She takes an afternoon nap of usually just over an hour or so, which she is starting to fall asleep for on her own, which wasn't planned, but has been a nice change, even if only temporary.

We are so blessed to be coming into our 2nd holiday season with our beautiful 19 month old girl!

18 Months old

(she took this picture herself, which she loves to do)

Well, my baby is now a year and a half old! If the first year went by way too fast, this year is going at warp speed. I cannot believe we are starting to prepare for the holidays!!

Miss Kalaya had her 18 month appointment on Monday. She is a healthy girl, developing as she should! The doctor said she looked great. She is 32 inches tall (61st percentile), 21 lbs 10 oz (13th percentile) and has a head circumference of 19 inches (91st percentile). It's really weird how they slow down on growth in their second year. She has been in 18 month clothes for so long compared to all of the other sizes she's worn in the past.

Her vocabulary has absolutely exploded! She says so many words! We tried to write them all down, but lost track around 35 or 40, not counting all of the signs that she knows too. She's gotten to the point where she will try to repeat words back that we model. She has started using 2 word phrases and is attempting sentences. She says things like 'all done', 'what's that?', 'there he/she is!', and will try saying sentences such as dada?....car...bye bye if I tell her during the day that Daddy is at work. It's pretty amazing to see!

It's gotten to the point where it's hard for me to list all of the new things she's doing, it's hard to keep track! I'll add to this as I think of more!

17 Months

I know that Kalaya has a lot more going on and is learning lots of new things, but it seems like I just listed them all, but that was already a month ago!

17 months and talking up a storm! Kalaya has been a babbler since she was 3 months, so that's nothing new. But, her sounds are actually making sense and turning into words, it's very exciting! Here are all the words I can think of that she says: Mamma, Dada, dog, fish, shoes, what's that?, yeah, neh (nurse), bye bye, ball, bath, hi, wow, night night, car, thank you (some times), bird, Bapa (for grandpa), Gamma (grandma), uncle, horse, and she signs; dog, cat, bird, fish, horse, please, more, shoes, nose, help, all done, walk, eat, drink/water, book, flower, music (when she wants us to put it on) and I'm sure there's more of both, but I can't think of them right at this second. It's pretty amazing to watch!

I finally feel like I have an eater! Well, most days, she is still a toddler after all. I continue to make almost everything she eats. Some days that means more like baby food (though it's more like those Gerber Toddler meals. I'm still freezing upgraded, home made food), but she also eats almost everything we have. Most nights at dinner, she eats what we eat, more or less. Lunch is more catered to her, whether it's ready made from the freezer or something typical lunch. We are still struggling to get her to eat fruit. She will eat apple sauce, some dried fruit and I hide purees in things. She'll eat oatmeal with apple or banana and we have discovered that she'll eat fresh blueberries in whole wheat pancakes. I need to see if she'll eat other fruits like that too. Every once in a while she'll pig out on strawberries or melon, but it's short lived. Other than that, she eats most things we give her.

I am pretty sure she's grown. All of a sudden, she can reach the tops of furniture she couldn't before and drawers. More baby proofing! She has a cupboard and 2 drawers in the kitchen and she LOVES emptying them multiple times a day. She loves her musical instruments I found for her (at a garage sale!) and plays them all the time. She loves to play her harmonica and Pippy loves to howl along with her, too funny! She still loves books more than almost anything else and loves to sit and read several times a day.

I can't believe I'm already thinking about it, but I'm starting to plan for Christmas! I'm starting early, because I am looking for her big gift on Craig's list. We're looking for a good quality used play kitchen. Let's face it, those things last forever and stay in great shape. It's cheaper and so much greener. Plus, she won't know the difference! We recently got her a little tykes climber, also on Craig's list, but she's not quite ready for it yet. Our friends just moved out of state : ( but were nice enough to give us some things their 3 year old has out grown; a Cozy Coupe, a Radio Flier wagon and a Little Tykes picnic table. We are set, thanks Heather!!

Here is the famous duo of Pippy and Kalaya:


And here's Kalaya reading her favorite book, which we do about 10 times a day : )

16 Months

Dear Kalaya,

Slow down!! You're changing and growing so much every day, it's getting hard to keep up! You are amazing. I am stunned by the things you do every day. We try so hard not to call you "smart", since we don't want that to be based on accomplishments. (we think it's much more important that you try your hardest and do your best!) But it's hard not to tell you, because it's hard to find another word!!! I'll just say that your mind must be on warp speed as you learn and try so many new things!



You are such an easy-going toddler. You do such a good job of entertaining yourself and playing. You are learning so much through your play times. You also are able to amuse yourself with almost anything. It makes Daddy and I laugh at the end of every day to see all the things you've tracked all over the house from spoons to your shoes, books to Mommy's (clean!) underwear from the laundry basket. You are so curious and interested in the world around you. You love to ask, "What's that?!" and point at new and interesting things.



You are doing so well learning how to play with others. You're learning to share and how to let others have a turn. Some times this frustrates you, but you're trying! It's so fun to have play dates with your friends and to go to our Mommy group activities, because I know that you make good choices and behave with other kids.

You are such a sweet heart and so full of affection!! You love to give everyone special to you hugs and kisses. You wave at everyone in stores and blow kisses all the time. You even kiss our phones if someone who loves you wants to talk to you. You are friendly, easy going and kind to others.

It's so neat to see you walking every where and to hear you talking! You now say: bye bye, night night, da da, mama, dog, bath, what's that?, car and neh neh (for nurse). You are still signing so much; we almost always know how to meet your needs. You love getting a chance to walk around any where we go, although you are so curious, we are practicing not touching everything without permission : ) You are also learning how to handle frustrations, by taking time outs and quiet times when you need to. You learn quickly and respond so well, which always has positive results for you!



I love being your Mommy more than anything in the world. I love watching you grow into a toddler and toward being a little girl. I'm so glad you still love to nurse so that I still get some good cuddle time with you and so that you still feel like a baby some times. I LOVE YOU!!!

15 Months

Well, things around here are busy, busy, at least for Miss Kalaya! She is growing and changing so much every day, I can't keep up with everything! This last month has been full of so many new things, it is so exciting to watch her!

Kalaya is walking, walking, walking! She basically just got up about 2 weeks ago and walked back and forth across the room all day and hasn't stopped. She definitely could have done it much sooner, she just lacked confidence. She is go, go, go! It's super cute, we love watching her waddle everywhere, toes turned out, knees locked. She gets going really fast, falls over, and gets right back up again. She seems so unsteady, but she doesn't fall as much as it seems like she should. She explores all over the house and any where else we go.

It's crazy how much her play time has changed. She is so independent at playing, as she always has been, but even more so now. Our house is pretty much completely Kalaya-proof (not necessarily any baby proof, she knows what she is and isn't supposed to get into), so she likes to explore and experiment where ever she goes. She has some drawers in the kitchen to play in, which she LOVES and empties several times a day. She has lots of toys, though she doesn't play with a lot of them as much. She looooooves books. She sits and reads quietly to herself several times a day, which just tickles me to death. She is starting to play pretend, which is adorable. She hugs and kisses her babies and animals, puts them on blankets, while saying "night night!", pushes them in the stroller, carries around bowls and spoons to "feed" herself, pushes trucks around and has a noise that goes with them, pretends to brush her hair, put on lotion, carries a purse around, plays dress-up with animal ears, jewelry, hats and shoes; it's so fun!

Her eating habits have gotten much more diverse. (on most days) She will finally eat a lot of different foods. She also seems to want to eat more in one sitting. We used to throw out a lot of food, because she wouldn't eat it!! It was awful, I hated the waste! Now that she's eating bigger meals, I've gone back to making meals for her (kind of baby food and baby food upgrades), freezing a bunch and having them ready. I like that she's being exposed to so many tastes and foods, which you certainly can't get in baby food jars! I made some with broccoli, cauliflower, salmon, quinoa, and avocado, just to name a few. I haven't seen those pre-made! Part of the reason she may be eating better now is that 2 more molars came in, so maybe teething will slow down a bit. She's up to 12 teeth!

She says 2 words clearly now (bye bye and night night) and has several more that are very close. (do for dog, da for daddy, nnnuh for nurse or sometimes no, etc.) She signs a LOT, which is so helpful, I am so, so glad we decided to sign with her! If for no other reason, it avoids meltdowns, because she has figured out that crying will not get her what she wants/needs. If she starts to fuss, whine, beg, etc, we say, "Use your words please!" and she signs for what she needs. This includes: want please, all done, more, help, eat/food, nurse, dad, mom, sorry and we see a LOT of dogs and birds when we're out and about! : )

One thing that has been happening at our house occasionally, it time out. With this new freedom of walking, of course, comes independence. It maybe happens once a day, if that. It's only if she's doing something unsafe, after a warning, or if she refuses to do something deliberately. (usually when she has something she's not supposed to and won't give it to the person requesting it) She gets a warning and she KNOWS what "time-out" means. A lot of the time, simply saying, "Do you need a time out for not listening?" is plenty and the behavior stops. (this is after we've asked her to stop repetedly and tried distraction too, unless it's something extreme or dangerous) If she refuses to cooperate, we have a spot in the family room that we put her in until she calms down (since it's usually not accepted well) or 1 minute, whichever is second. She then has to say (sign) "sorry" and give hugs and kisses, which she always does and 9 1/2 times out of 10, the behavior disappears! It's been working great. I'm amazed that parents think that their 3 or 4 year old "won't understand" time out. The first couple of times she tried to get away, but now she understand that she stays there until we say she can get up.

Yesterday something AMAZING happened. My mom and I were out shopping and I found a potty for her that was dirt cheap on sale that can either sit on the ground, convert to a seat to put on the big toilet, or a stool for after they're trained. I bought it and set it up in the bathroom, just to get it out of the box. We told Kalaya what it was and didn't think anything of it. A little while later, while starting to talk about bath time, she started undoing her diaper. I asked, "Do you want to sit on the potty?" She knew exactly what we meant and walked into the bathroom. I helped her sit on it and gave her some water to drink. I had a book we looked at and less than 3 minutes later, there was pee pee in the potty!!! We couldn't believe it! And, she did it again today! I had NO intention of starting potty training this early, but who knows??? I have read that cloth diaper babies can learn earlier, but this seems REALLY early. We're going to leave it in the bathroom and any time she shows interest, we'll let her sit on it. We'll also offer in the morning, after naps and just before bath. No rush, of course, but why the heck not???

We've been pretty busy this summer on the weekends. We've attended some weddings and we went to Nelson's 10 year reunion. (eek, that means mine is only a year away!!) This was a step for us as parents, because we left Kalaya with 2 friends of ours, which we've never done before. She has always only been left with one or the other of us. She has stayed with my parents twice, less than 30 minutes each time. She did fine, we did fine. I'm glad we waited as long as we did. It's funny, when I posted on Facebook that we were leaving her for the first time at 14 months, people acted like we were nuts for waiting so long. And they acted like leaving your child is such a huge break and so relaxing! I don't know, it was fine, but I didn't think, OMG, why did we wait so long?? Nelson and I are both in total agreement that we will have YEARS to be just the two of us. We like being with our baby! Maybe when we have more it will be different, but she's nice to have around. : )

We have been doing some sleep training at our house. As parents, we agree that learning to sleep should be like any other part of growing up: solid foods, weaning, potty training, etc. We think that when our children are ready, they'll take the next step. We don't believe in forcing them aka, for sleep training, we don't leave them alone in a room to cry themselves to exhaustion. We know many people swear by it, but we're choosing otherwise. Since we c0-sleep, Kalaya still had been waking up once a night to nurse, which was fine. Then, she started waking up much more often, for several nights in a row. I was beyond exhaustion, so we tried an experiment. Since Nelson usually sleeps in his own room and I sleep with her, we decided to switch. Because Kalaya hasn't HAD to be nursed to sleep in several weeks, I felt confident that she is able to fall asleep on her own. So, Nelson sleeps with her and I sleep in the next room. It has been working! Kalaya stays asleep most of the night between 8pm and 6am. However, a LOT of people told us that once she wasn't getting to nurse at that 3am feeding, she would stay asleep and sleep all night. WRONG! It's been 3 weeks and that hasn't changed. But, she does go right back to sleep pretty quickly most nights. And, when she wakes up at 6, I go in to nurse her and she usually goes back to sleep until 9 or even 10am. The funny thing is, I don't feel like I'm getting THAT much more sleep. I sleep for longer stretches, which is great, but during the day, I don't feel any more rested than when I used to nurse her once a night. I knew I was getting enough sleep from co-sleeping. : )

Walking!

Miss Kalaya is walking! Slowly, but surely! And all over the house today!

A Few Recent Pics

Here are some pics from our trip to Wyoming, the 4th of July and around the house. My favorites are the ones where she's reading, which she constantly does! I love that I'm raising a reader. She will sit and look at books some days for 30-45 minutes; not bad for a 14 month old!!

13 (1/2 ) Months

I will deny it if you ask me, but I think I have to face the facts. My child is not really a baby any more. She is a toddler. Now, she's not quite walking yet, but it is literally going to be any minute. She walks holding onto everything she can. She holds our hand/hands and walks around. She has 2 different push toys and a baby stroller that she walks with all over the house. At this point, it's just a matter of confidence. She'll stand all by herself for 30 seconds, very excited and proud of herself, but if you try to get her to step toward you or something else, she freaks out and refuses. It's actually pretty funny. We say, "Okay, one, two, THREE!" and sometimes she throws her hands up in the air to stand on her own and other times gets fussy and refuses, because she totally knows what me mean by it. : )

Kalaya has officially said her first word! Some parents may have given her credit a while ago, because she has definitely looked at Nelson and said Dadadadada and me and said Mamamamama and Pippy and said Dododododododo, but not completely consistently. Today Nelson was leaving the room and I said, "Bye bye Daddy!" and she looked right at him, waved her hand (which she's done for quite awhile) and said, "Buh bye!" It was wonderful! And she's been doing it at the appropriate times ever since!




She is definitely learning more and more about everything. She gets into drawers, bags, purses, the dog dish, computer stuff, and the recycling. (no garbage cans yet, they're out of reach!) She loves to play with her cars and trucks, her baby dolls, stacking toys, crayons, pens (learned to stay right next to her with those, she drew on our TV stand this week), forks, spoons, bowls, you name it!

She's finally eating pretty well. (for her) She's never been a big eater (other than nursing!), but she's consistently eating 3 meals a day with a snack or two. She is experimenting with whatever foods we're having at a meal, but we still give her "baby" food as well, to make sure she gets enough to eat. (we tried relying just on her feeding skills, but her stomach would be growling late at night and she'd wake up crying and hungry) Her favorite foods are avacados, plain yogurt, oatmeal, cottage cheese, pasta, and most of the baby food we offer, which are a variety of mixes of veggies with meats and grains. She hardly likes any fruits. We've tried more than I can name; pears, apples, strawberries, mangoes, peaches, grapes, cherries, bananas and she spits everything out. We've tried purees, dried, fresh, frozen, hiding them in cereal, yogurt, anything we can think of and she clamps her mouth down or just plays with them. We'll keep offering them! She is very independent and loves to feed herself when she can.

Kalaya still nurses really well. I hear about other toddlers starting to lose interest, but that doesn't seem to be the case with her. We nurse first thing in the morning, nap times and bedtime, but she signs for it a couple of times throughout the day and doesn't just graze; she does around 5-10 minutes when she's interested. I love it and I'm in no rush to wean her, so it's working well for us.

12 Month/1 year Appointment

Today was Kalaya's one year appointment and it went very well! This was our first time with our new pediatrician. We decided the drive to Tualatin was just too much and this office is 2 minutes from Nelson's work. Our pediatrician was very highly recommended by a mother from our mommy group, who also practices attachment parenting. She is really nice, very supportive and we really like her, hooray!

The appointment went great! Kalaya is 30 1/2 inches long (89th percentile), 19 lbs 10 1/2 oz (25th percentile) and has a head circumference of 18 1/2 inches (93rd percentile). (She is now in 18 month clothes and wearing a size 4 diaper if she has a disposable on) All in all she was declared "perfect" and healthy! Of course, we already knew that, but it's nice to get a non-biased opinion! : )

Last week I checked the vaccine list to see what was coming up at this appointment and discovered they are scheduled for 5!! FIVE!!! That is shocking to me. I don't really worry about the autism scare and allergic reactions, but that is a LOT of shots! I wouldn't want to do that! So, we had 2 instead, to finish off the series she's started. She'll get the others (MMR, chicken pox and Hep A) in a couple of months, just to give her a break in between! She did very well, BIG cry when she got poked, but calmed down fine. She was a champ at the appointment, showing off her signing and some of her fine motor skills without any coaxing. She was a doll and every one just ate it up, as always!

Kalaya is crawling, crawling, crawling! She pulls up on everything, even things we wouldn't think possible! She has stood without holding onto anything 3 times, only for about 2 second, but it happened! She "walks" all around the coffee table, the couch, etc. I knew once she became mobile, everything else was going to happen quickly, and I was right! She's not too far from walking, we can sense it! We are a pretty baby proof household these days!

She is independently playing really well. She has some fun new toys that she plays with really well. She has a new ride on toy and some things with buttons. She's starting some imaginative play too, she pours tea into her teacup, drinks from the cup and shares with her dolls. She kisses her dolls and puts them in the stroller or rocking chair, so sweet!!

She has started sleeping through the night!!! It seems like she is the last baby on earth to do so, but I don't care, it is happening!! (Of course, now that I'm bragging, it won't happen tonight) She's eating lots of different foods (some days) and likes to feed herself. Other days, it's just breast milk still, but she just got tooth #9 last week and we can see #10 (both molars) pushing through, so I'm sure she's in some pain!

Life is about to change a little bit for Kalaya and I. We are going to start watching another baby every day. Andrew is 6 months old. We will watch him most mornings from about 8 until 1. I am really excited about the additional income, but it will be an adjustment to our lifestyle. No more sleeping in! : ( We'll see how everything goes!

Happy First Birthday, Part II

I haven't written anything on this blog yet, even though my name (for some reason) comes first. But I thought since it's Kalaya's first birthday, I'd write something. It's kind of cheating though, because this is what I wrote when I first found out Kelly was pregnant, way back in October of 2008. Holy crap, that seems like a long time ago. Anyway, happy birthday sweetheart! (Also, I sprinkled in some updated notes, mostly/completely for my own enjoyment.)

October 8, 2008

Baby.

Baby, baby, baby, baby!

(Like Reese Witherspoon in ‘Walk the Line,’ only not as dramatic.)
*At the time, this was topical. Now, well, yikes.

I think I was nervous for about three seconds when your mother first showed me the positive test. I’m hoping that’s a normal feeling, and I suppose I’d rather be nervous for three seconds as opposed to three years. But I’m not nervous anymore.

I have only told a handful of people about you up to this point, and most of them have asked me if I’m nervous. And my answer is always the same. I don’t want to sound arrogant, or unrealistic, or patronizing in any sense, but I can’t even begin to explain how not nervous I am. What’s the opposite of nervous? Probably ‘ready’, but I wouldn’t assume that I’m ready to raise another human being. Let’s ask the Microsoft Word Thesaurus…

Calm? Composed? Tranquil? That doesn’t seem right. Oh, I found it.

UNRUFFLED.

That’s me. Your father is completely unruffled.

I know I’ll be ruffled at various points in your life, like when you first talk back, or when you burn your hand on the stove, or when you drive our car into a ditch, or when you tell me you hate baseball/softball and break my heart into 162 pieces. But every time I think about you now, I am unabashedly unruffled.

It’s very strange because I can’t seem to stop thinking about you, or touching your mother in the spot where I think you’re sleeping, or looking at our first pictures of you on the refrigerator. I wish I were better with words, since I am unable to describe how it’s possible to love someone without knowing them. But it happens.

I think I will keep these little musings about you until reach an arbitrary age like 18 or 21. *Or, you know, stop after this one. I think it would be neat to give you something like this on a birthday or before you go off to college (not that you have to go to college, I’m just saying). You know, assuming we don’t hate each other or something.

I know I am lazy so I hope that I can keep up with this. *Damn! It’s already October 8th, you’re already nine weeks old (in womb time), and this is just the first time I’ve written anything. I don’t see how I can’t keep writing to you, but this is the same man who buys running shoes and jogs for a week before giving up.

But I’m also too excited about you now that we’ve seen you (and you waved! I don’t care what anyone says, I saw you wave, and it was a real wave, and it was awesome) to not write to you and tell you about things you probably don’t care about and I probably won’t remember.

So I’ll write to you at least once a week (if not more), because if there is one thing I can do well, writing would be it. (If there are two things I can do well, they would be writing and conceiving children. Yeah, Micronesian genetics!)

I should probably go to bed before your mother gets mad at me for staying up too late (she sleeps and eats a lot so you will be happy and healthy when you come see us for the first time), but I want you to know two things:

1) You have an absolutely amazing mother. Sometimes you will forget this, just as sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be married to her. But she is an incredible, beautiful woman. Any good that you have in you will surely come from her.

2) I hope, hope, hope, that you have an amazing father. My biggest fear in life is not being good enough for you. It’s hard for me to express my feelings sometimes (most times), especially when that feeling is love. But I love you already, I loved you when you waved at me, I loved you yesterday and I will love you tomorrow.

I can’t wait to see you again.

~Daddy