Kaiya -- 3 1/2 years old!
And a little update on our Kaiya-bear too! She is now 3 1/2, going on 30, I swear! Almost on a daily basis, I literally cannot believe how much she has grown up and can't connect that MY little girl is doing the things she is now doing! It's like we are in warp speed and no matter how much I want to savor this phase of life right now, it changes in the blink of an eye!
Kaiya melts my heart. She has this unique and beautiful sensitivity that warms me up in every way! There have been a lot of times that I have worried so much about how shy she was or wanted her to stick up for herself more or wanted her to show off even just once so other people could see what we get to witness about her at home. Such a typical parent, right? But she continually teaches me that you don't have to be loud or the center of attention to be absolutely incredible and special! I have come to love that so much about her. The wonderful and amazing things she does sometimes just get to remain our little secret and I treasure that! And believe me, there is so much about this little lady that I adore!
Kaiya is turning out to be a natural big sister! It reaffirms to me on a regular basis, that she was 100% meant to come to our family first to be the oldest. She loves to mother Taylor, to the point that a lot of times I have to remind her that I will be the mom. To which she usually responds, "No, I'm the mom!" Too funny! She is so concerned about Taylor. When Tay cries, Kaiya will be right by her side saying, "It's ok, sweetheart!" When Tay is struggling to do something, Kaiya is so eager to show her how or to help her out. She gets her heart broken every time Taylor tries to leave before she is done playing with her! Whenever we are out, or even just around the house, she ALWAYS wants to be holding Tay's hand, leading her from one activity to the next! They love to play chase around the couches and when they get all tuckered out, they lay down facing each other and just laugh or talk. It is so perfectly cute! I am very interested to see how Kaiya reacts to her little baby sister. She tells us constantly that she can't wait for sister to come and I think it's true! I think she will be really helpful and really concerned for this little babe! We may have to teach her that sister is not a doll to be carried around the house and dropped when something else more exciting presents itself!
We have been totally potty trained for awhile now and it is a phase of life that I am thrilled to be past! She did so well with it and even though it took a few months, I could not be more proud of Kaiya for conquering it! We have even had some fun experiences pulled over on the side of the road with her peeing in the snow, but hey, at least she isn't going in her pants! She was night trained before she was even day trained and as long as she goes right before bed, she sleeps all through the night with no accidents! Literally, she has not peed her bed since about the second week of her potty training and so we've never even had to do the pull-up thing at night! Love that!
Kai has had such a good experience with pre-school this year. It has really, really helped her to come out of her shell a lot and learn how to interact socially with other kids. I am always amazed and very excited when I pick her up to see her running around with the other kids, laughing and playing because in the past, there was a lot more playing by herself.
What a little smarty pants she is! She has started to tell us what letter words start with by sounding it out herself. She will tell us "K for Kaiya" or "T for Taylor" or "W for Watch like daddy's!" She knows all her alphabet sounds, counts quite well, and has a memory that is unbelievable to me! So often, we will tell her something one time and then weeks later, she will remember what we said and repeat it back to us!
Kai loves books. I mean REALLY loves books! On a daily basis, she will sit down with a huge stack of books and one by one tell the story (from memory), sometimes holding up the book like a teacher would so she can share it with Taylor. She always keeps 3 or 4 books in bed with her so that when she wakes up in the morning, she can read a few to start her day! She about has a heart attack if Taylor ever rips any of her pages, so many of our books are covered in tape! Whenever she finds a page that has been put back together with tape, she acts so relieved and says, "Oh mom, you fixed it!!"
Kaiya has really become interested in helping me cook/bake. She loves to imitate on her own kitchen set, but there's nothing like the real thing, stirring some cookie batter or sitting on the counter watching while I make something. I love this time with her, even though it can get real messy real quick!
Kaiya started Primary at church at the first of the year. I was so worried about how she would handle it, since new experiences sometimes scare her so much. But there was not one tear shed and she has really been loving it! We will go peek at her periodically and I am always wondering what magic her teachers are using to keep her sitting so reverently and quietly in her chair! She looks like such a BIG girl in there! And every week she tells us, "I'm going to Primary to be a Sunbeam!" So proud!
She continues to be so sensitive to spiritual things. She loves the Savior so naturally. She is drawn to Him and loves to read stories about Him, see pictures of Him, and tell us what she has learned about Him. We were reading her a book her grandma gave her and there was a drawing in there about Jesus' baptism, so we talked about it. Now, she tells us all the time how Jesus was baptized by John and how when she turns 8, she wants to get baptized like Him. She teaches us so much by her innocent and pure love of spiritual things. She loves to see temples and tell us how she is going to get "mary" there. She has started saying prayers on her own and they are absolutely beautiful! She talks to Heavenly Father the way we all should -- just to talk. She tells Him about her day, how she watched Monster's Inc., and how mom took her tangles out of her hair, and how she had fun at preschool, etc. And she always prays for "Prophet Monston". To say that she was sent here to teach OUR spirits a thing or two is an understatement and I am thankful every day for her! She forgives soooo easily, loves so readily, believes with such perfect and pure faith...it is the fulfillment of the why we are taught to "become as little children" when it comes to things of a spiritual nature.
Kaiya is a hoot! Her mannerisms, the things she says, her looks or gestures, sometimes they just kill me! And when you start laughing at her, she realizes that she is funny and will start laughing so hard at herself! Of course, the minute you try to get her to do some of her funny antics for someone else, she turns into shy Kaiya, so unfortunately most people don't get to see how funny she is! But we do, and not a day goes by that she doesn't have us in stitches!
She is a pretty good eater, not too picky. She will try most things, but definitely has her favorites that she likes to stick to. Luckily she loves fruits and vegetables and yogurt and is just as content to snack on a carrot as she is to snack on goldfish! And she LOVES to brush her teeth too, so that's good!
This girl is the best sleeper on the planet! She will be our teenager that we have to physically lift out of bed, I think! She has always been this way! She very rarely ever wakes up in the middle of the night, not even to go to the bathroom, and I usually have to get her up in the morning to go to preschool or so she doesn't sleep all morning! She still takes 3 hour naps too, if you can believe it!
Kaiya is a singer. She sings to tell stories, she sings to talk sometimes, she is always excited to practice new songs she has learned or old ones that she has known for awhile. And if you know Kaiya, you know she has the highest, sweetest voice! It is pretty close to breaking glass sometimes, I'm pretty sure! Sometimes when she is falling asleep at night, we will hear her in there singing to all her stuffed animals! It is so cute! She also loves to dance! She gets the most serious look on her face and her little tongue comes out in pure concentration when she is dancing! It is so funny! Sometimes she will close her eyes when she is really into it!
Her favorite movie right now is Despicable Me, but she still loves her old favorites too, like Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Ice Age, Signing Time and Toy Story.
That is a little bit about Kai Kai at 3 1/2. What a blessing this child has been to our family, each of us. She teaches us so much about kindness and caring for other people's feelings and yet can still be so funny and sassy! She is helpful, obedient (most of the time), smart, beautiful, creative, fun, sensitive and oh so sweet! I can't believe we could ever be so lucky to have her come to our family the way she has and to bless our lives as much as she does every day! Not a day goes by that I don't feel gratitude in my heart that we get to be together forever! I love you with all my heart, sweet Kai!
Kaiya melts my heart. She has this unique and beautiful sensitivity that warms me up in every way! There have been a lot of times that I have worried so much about how shy she was or wanted her to stick up for herself more or wanted her to show off even just once so other people could see what we get to witness about her at home. Such a typical parent, right? But she continually teaches me that you don't have to be loud or the center of attention to be absolutely incredible and special! I have come to love that so much about her. The wonderful and amazing things she does sometimes just get to remain our little secret and I treasure that! And believe me, there is so much about this little lady that I adore!
Kaiya is turning out to be a natural big sister! It reaffirms to me on a regular basis, that she was 100% meant to come to our family first to be the oldest. She loves to mother Taylor, to the point that a lot of times I have to remind her that I will be the mom. To which she usually responds, "No, I'm the mom!" Too funny! She is so concerned about Taylor. When Tay cries, Kaiya will be right by her side saying, "It's ok, sweetheart!" When Tay is struggling to do something, Kaiya is so eager to show her how or to help her out. She gets her heart broken every time Taylor tries to leave before she is done playing with her! Whenever we are out, or even just around the house, she ALWAYS wants to be holding Tay's hand, leading her from one activity to the next! They love to play chase around the couches and when they get all tuckered out, they lay down facing each other and just laugh or talk. It is so perfectly cute! I am very interested to see how Kaiya reacts to her little baby sister. She tells us constantly that she can't wait for sister to come and I think it's true! I think she will be really helpful and really concerned for this little babe! We may have to teach her that sister is not a doll to be carried around the house and dropped when something else more exciting presents itself!
We have been totally potty trained for awhile now and it is a phase of life that I am thrilled to be past! She did so well with it and even though it took a few months, I could not be more proud of Kaiya for conquering it! We have even had some fun experiences pulled over on the side of the road with her peeing in the snow, but hey, at least she isn't going in her pants! She was night trained before she was even day trained and as long as she goes right before bed, she sleeps all through the night with no accidents! Literally, she has not peed her bed since about the second week of her potty training and so we've never even had to do the pull-up thing at night! Love that!Kai has had such a good experience with pre-school this year. It has really, really helped her to come out of her shell a lot and learn how to interact socially with other kids. I am always amazed and very excited when I pick her up to see her running around with the other kids, laughing and playing because in the past, there was a lot more playing by herself.
What a little smarty pants she is! She has started to tell us what letter words start with by sounding it out herself. She will tell us "K for Kaiya" or "T for Taylor" or "W for Watch like daddy's!" She knows all her alphabet sounds, counts quite well, and has a memory that is unbelievable to me! So often, we will tell her something one time and then weeks later, she will remember what we said and repeat it back to us!
Kai loves books. I mean REALLY loves books! On a daily basis, she will sit down with a huge stack of books and one by one tell the story (from memory), sometimes holding up the book like a teacher would so she can share it with Taylor. She always keeps 3 or 4 books in bed with her so that when she wakes up in the morning, she can read a few to start her day! She about has a heart attack if Taylor ever rips any of her pages, so many of our books are covered in tape! Whenever she finds a page that has been put back together with tape, she acts so relieved and says, "Oh mom, you fixed it!!"
Kaiya has really become interested in helping me cook/bake. She loves to imitate on her own kitchen set, but there's nothing like the real thing, stirring some cookie batter or sitting on the counter watching while I make something. I love this time with her, even though it can get real messy real quick!
Kaiya started Primary at church at the first of the year. I was so worried about how she would handle it, since new experiences sometimes scare her so much. But there was not one tear shed and she has really been loving it! We will go peek at her periodically and I am always wondering what magic her teachers are using to keep her sitting so reverently and quietly in her chair! She looks like such a BIG girl in there! And every week she tells us, "I'm going to Primary to be a Sunbeam!" So proud!
She continues to be so sensitive to spiritual things. She loves the Savior so naturally. She is drawn to Him and loves to read stories about Him, see pictures of Him, and tell us what she has learned about Him. We were reading her a book her grandma gave her and there was a drawing in there about Jesus' baptism, so we talked about it. Now, she tells us all the time how Jesus was baptized by John and how when she turns 8, she wants to get baptized like Him. She teaches us so much by her innocent and pure love of spiritual things. She loves to see temples and tell us how she is going to get "mary" there. She has started saying prayers on her own and they are absolutely beautiful! She talks to Heavenly Father the way we all should -- just to talk. She tells Him about her day, how she watched Monster's Inc., and how mom took her tangles out of her hair, and how she had fun at preschool, etc. And she always prays for "Prophet Monston". To say that she was sent here to teach OUR spirits a thing or two is an understatement and I am thankful every day for her! She forgives soooo easily, loves so readily, believes with such perfect and pure faith...it is the fulfillment of the why we are taught to "become as little children" when it comes to things of a spiritual nature.Kaiya is a hoot! Her mannerisms, the things she says, her looks or gestures, sometimes they just kill me! And when you start laughing at her, she realizes that she is funny and will start laughing so hard at herself! Of course, the minute you try to get her to do some of her funny antics for someone else, she turns into shy Kaiya, so unfortunately most people don't get to see how funny she is! But we do, and not a day goes by that she doesn't have us in stitches!
She is a pretty good eater, not too picky. She will try most things, but definitely has her favorites that she likes to stick to. Luckily she loves fruits and vegetables and yogurt and is just as content to snack on a carrot as she is to snack on goldfish! And she LOVES to brush her teeth too, so that's good!This girl is the best sleeper on the planet! She will be our teenager that we have to physically lift out of bed, I think! She has always been this way! She very rarely ever wakes up in the middle of the night, not even to go to the bathroom, and I usually have to get her up in the morning to go to preschool or so she doesn't sleep all morning! She still takes 3 hour naps too, if you can believe it!
Kaiya is a singer. She sings to tell stories, she sings to talk sometimes, she is always excited to practice new songs she has learned or old ones that she has known for awhile. And if you know Kaiya, you know she has the highest, sweetest voice! It is pretty close to breaking glass sometimes, I'm pretty sure! Sometimes when she is falling asleep at night, we will hear her in there singing to all her stuffed animals! It is so cute! She also loves to dance! She gets the most serious look on her face and her little tongue comes out in pure concentration when she is dancing! It is so funny! Sometimes she will close her eyes when she is really into it!
Her favorite movie right now is Despicable Me, but she still loves her old favorites too, like Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Ice Age, Signing Time and Toy Story.That is a little bit about Kai Kai at 3 1/2. What a blessing this child has been to our family, each of us. She teaches us so much about kindness and caring for other people's feelings and yet can still be so funny and sassy! She is helpful, obedient (most of the time), smart, beautiful, creative, fun, sensitive and oh so sweet! I can't believe we could ever be so lucky to have her come to our family the way she has and to bless our lives as much as she does every day! Not a day goes by that I don't feel gratitude in my heart that we get to be together forever! I love you with all my heart, sweet Kai!
posted by Chris Grover at 1:28 PM
4 Comments:
Oh that Kaiya what a beautiful, smart, amazing little girl!!
Happy Birthday, Kaiya! I loved this little tribute. She is such a little doll. How blessed she is to be a part of your family and vice versa. :)
I don't know why I wished Kaiya a Happy Birthday! I just realized that after I posted it. I am losing it!
Oh....I have tears in my eyes. She is one beautiful, precious girl!
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