Today Kaya turns 1!
Watching her grow has been such an amazing, fascinating, rewarding experience. She is smart, beautiful, sweet, and thoughtful. Here are some notes about where she stands at this special day:
- She has words! Dadda, Cheetah, and Duck are all things you can kinda sorta make out. Momma might be one of them, but it's just not in use as much. Cheetah is one of her buddies, and Duck was a gift from Liora for her birthday.
- Kaya is walking! She was taking tentative steps between Mommy and Daddy (and falling into us) for the past few weeks, but she took some real steps this past weekend, walking all the way across her room. She still prefers to crawl, but walking isn't far off.
- Some things Kaya likes to do: blow kisses, kiss, hug, clap her hands, give high fives, point, and wave bye-bye. If you ask her for a hug, she squeezes you tight. She kisses her buddies (a lot), and also babies she sees in books.
- Her teachers tell us she "doesn't let the other kids boss her around." We aren't quite sure what that means, but we know she doesn't let them take toys from her. At home, she has started pushing Liora away from a toy that she wants for herself.
- Kaya is over baby food. She doesn't really want to eat it anymore, preferring cheerios at every meal. Mommy and daddy had to put the box away or she would just refuse her food and point to the box. She also enjoys sweet potato, carrots, and cheese.
- Kaya likes to examine her toys. Ever since she just started moving around, she has taken time to figure things out. At the same age, her sister would play with something, and then move on. Kaya will take some moments to play with it and learn how it works, and she doesn't give up easily at all.
- Kaya is tall-ish for her age. She just recently grew into 18 month clothes, a feat her sister accomplished right at 18 months. We'll know more about percentiles at her 1-year check-up, but she seems on track to be taller than her sissy.
- Kaya love her books. In the morning, it's the first place she wants to go, right to her favorite book pile. She will hand you books and say "uh, uh" until you start reading. She does not like getting pulled away from them.
- Kaya shakes her head no, but she also is very emphatic with her yes nodding. Mostly employed to tell you, yes, she would like you to read that book, and yes, she wants that box of cheerios.
It wasn't so long ago that I wasn't sure if I wanted to have children. It's hard to believe now, because I truly believe that having them, helping them grow, and watching them learn is the best thing in life. Kaya is one amazing little girl, and I'm so in love with her! Happy birthday baby girl!
