What a gal!

Some little things that I want to remember about my Kaiya-bear at this age (life has been so busy lately that I don't feel like I've been as good at writing these things down!): She is very communicative around us, but around other people, of course she acts like she doesn't know how to talk! She has learned to do the shy act, which means when most people look at her, her head goes down and she will only look out of the corners of her eyes. I don't think she is really all that shy, I guess you just have to catch her in the right mood!

She still really loves "Signing Time" and I am finding that she knows so many more signs than I do and she will be signing something over and over and I have no idea what she is trying to say! Guess I need to watch the videos a few more times!

She loves prayer time. She folds her arms (for a few seconds, anyway) and always says her "amens". Only problem is that she doesn't say "amen", she says "aboo". Not sure where that came from, but she has been saying "amen" that way for months now! Weird!

She is very good at being polite. When you give her something or help her with something, she says, "Thank you" AND "welcome". She hasn't quite figured out that you use those two phrases at different times! She also says this when she does something for you -- like when she brings you a binky for Taylor, she says, "thank you, welcome". It is pretty cute!

She is obsessed with shoes. She wants to hold a pair of shoes while you are changing her and she will not leave her room without her shoes on. More specifically, she is really obsessed with these cheap, Wal-mart generic Crocs. Don't know why, but she wants to wear them ALL the time! I have to hide them if I want to put different shoes on her!

Kaiya has always loved stuffed animals. When she goes to bed at night, she is sure to tell us who needs to join her in the crib. "Bear, bear" or "foo-foo" (which is what she calls all rabbits), or "moooo" (cow). She carries them around all over the house, usually about 5 or 6 in her arms at a time. It's a good thing they are washable! She loves to growl, but not really in a mean way. Sometimes it's when she is mad, but mostly, it is just for fun. Her new favorite animal is the lion because she can growl just like them!

Kaiya LOVES ice cream. Not all that unusual, I guess, but is it bad that when we drive by McDonald's, she starts saying "ice cream" over and over again? That's usually where daddy takes her for ice cream treats and she knows the arches! She has an ABC book that has a picture of ice cream for the letter "I", and she opens up to that page at least 10 times a day to look at the ice cream! Yikes, we better tame that obsession down a bit!

She loves giving knuckles (or bones, as daddy calls them) and fives. She will seriously pass those out to anyone and everyone. She won't talk, and puts on her shy act with most people, but even still, she will always give bones. She also does this funny throw-back of her head and goes "ahh" when she gives them.

She is such a sweet and sensitive spirit. She loves to give kisses and hugs or to blow kisses when she's feeling shy. She will sometimes just walk up to us and put her head on our laps or our shoulders for no reason other than to give some love, and then she is on her way again to play. She also loves to put her head on our shoulders and pat us on the back. She also says "I love you, daddy" and "I love you, mommy" and now "I love you, Tay Tay". But she says "I love you" by going "wooo-oooo". It melts us! She still loves throwing. And throwing. And throwing. It is almost a little amazing how well she throws. Probably because that's what she does all day every day. Now she has started throwing things over shoulder, backwards style too. T-ball will not come soon enough, that's all I can say!

She has started jumping and I have to say, little kids learning to jump has always been one of my favorite things. They don't really leave the ground but they concentrate so hard and throw their arms up in the air like they have just cleared the high jump! Kaiya could jump all day long and it is pretty cute! She LOVES Taylor so much. She is so concerned about her, when other people hold Taylor, she makes frequent trips over to make sure Taylor is ok. She is kind-of protective that way. The minute she comes out of her room in the morning, she runs to the top of the stairs to spot where Taylor is and then screams, "Tay-tay!" And when she goes to bed at night, she always says, "buh bye Tay-tay" as she walks upstairs. And Taylor doesn't even seem to get too mad when she gets caught in the cross fires of big sister's throwing -- she has been hit by hangers, stuffed animals, books, cups, and a package of wet wipes. Keeps us on our toes, deflecting Kaiya's throws! She doesn't like the vaccuum much, but loves books. She doesn't like to go to bed anymore at night, but loves to play with her stuffed animals in her crib when she should be asleep! Oh yeah, and she also loves throwing her sippy cup against the walls of her crib to hear the loud bang. Did I mention that she loves throwing?! Aughhh! She is obsessed with raisins and animal crackers, but doesn't care much for applesauce or green beans.

While Kaiya is definitely showing signs of nearing the two's (tantrums, tantrums, tantrums), she also has a smile that could put the sun to shame and more love in that little tiny body than most people will ever have. She is such a sweet big sister and a dream daughter (well, most of the time), and with every stage she goes through, we continue to know more and more what the love of a parent truly is all about. Love you, Kai-bear!