Milestones

I realized that I have been so busy reporting on all the activities we've been doing that I have completely failed to document all the developmental milestones that Kaya has reached and all the new tricks she can do to delight and disgust us. She's learning and growing so fast at this stage that it feels like everyday brings something new. 

At 6 1/2 months, she could pull herself up to a standing position while holding on to furniture. And, she started scooting around, using her arms to get where she was going and just dragging her legs behind her. Not the quickest mode of transport but she had some mobility for the first time and she was able to maneuver herself right off the bed and conk her head on the ground more than once. That's when I realized that Kaya being able to move around independently was going to drastically change this whole parenting thing! 

By 7 months, she was crawling all over the place, up on all fours with her tummy off the ground. She gets into absolutely everything. She has a toybox full of toys and even if I dump them all on the ground for her to play with, she will crawl right around them to tug on the wires to Papa's record player or bash Mama's laptop keyboard (which has already been replaced once due to a certain someone barfing their morning bottle onto it). Most of my days are spent baby-wrangling and chasing her around trying to keep her out of danger and trouble but it is really amazing to watch her discover the world around her. She has such a curiosity about everything and everyone and she's really starting to interact with her surroundings in a meaningful way.

In the last week or so, she has started to figure out how to use and control her hands in a much more coordinated way than ever before. She has started clapping her hands, waving bye-bye and she likes to sit on the kitchen floor while we are cooking and bang on a pot with a wooden spoon.

She is still nursing but she is a great eater and has gotten the hang of solid foods now. Shaun and I make all of her food ourselves, at home, in the food processor. It's actually pretty fun to just walk around the produce section at the supermarket, grabbing whatever looks fresh and delicious and coming up with new mixtures and ingredients for purees. She has a pretty diverse palate, I think; she will eat veggies- even the bland ones like cauliflower- and, she likes rice and barley cereal. But, fruits are her absolute favorite.

She loves strawberries and bananas, blueberries and peaches, apples and plums. I don't think she's met a fruit she didn't like. It's still a very messy process but that kind of makes it more fun! Besides, I think she looks quite fetching with a sweet potato goatee!

Sometimes it makes me a little sad to watch my sweet, fragile newborn growing up so fast and turning into a chubby, busy little infant but mostly it makes me proud. She is so smart and healthy, curious and loving. I am so excited for what the future holds- everything from her first Halloween costume to her first words, first steps, first Christmas- there is so much to look forward to!

Viva Mexico!

Last September, Kaya and I went to Rosarito Beach, Mexico and had a lot of fun. Except, she was swimming in my belly and I was swimming in the ocean. This year, she got to swim with me instead of inside me.

It was her first international adventure!
We drove down with Grandma Kim and Auntiebom Amy.
While we were there we got to spend time with great-Grandma & great-Grandpa and great-Uncle Kirk.
They couldn't believe how big Kaya has gotten (or how darn cute she looked in her beachwear).

We had a great room with a gorgeous view and we spent 4 days relaxing, swimming and eating. 

The girl and I had lots of fun.

Kaya's 1st Fourth of July

Kaya got all dressed up in her red, white and blue for her 1st Fourth of July.

She was very excited to see her best friend, Emilly. We all miss her so much already!
One of the best parts about living in Burbank was our next door neighbors- Nano, Raffi and Emilly. We're so sad not to have them 10 feet away at all times but we were very happy that they came to BBQ and watch fireworks with us today.
Everyone had fun. (Look! We caught Papa smiling!)
When it got dark we walked down to the beach to watch the fireworks display over the Queen Mary. Kaya fell asleep!

Hiking Malibu Creek

We spent Saturday afternoon hiking up Malibu Creek Canyon with Grandma Kim, Kelsey, Kirk and Amy. It's a pretty trail and it was a really nice day. Kaya loves being outdoors and seemed to have a good time. We went to the beach for her very first time afterwards but it was cold and windy and I think she was tired at that point so she wasn't too interested. We'll try again when it's warmer and when she isn't so worn out. She looked adorable in her bathing suit, though! I'm looking forward to all the fun things we will do this summer. We are moving to Long Beach in August so I'm sure there will be lots of beach days in our future.

Baby's First Roadtrip

It was a big weekend for the Stinkarina. Mama, Kaya and Kelsey went to Berkeley to visit Amy for Easter. Kaya celebrated lots of "firsts" this weekend. Friday night was the first night we have spent away from Papa since she was born. Also, this was Kaya's first long car trip. She did great with the 5 hour drive. Any time she started to fuss, if a bottle couldn't make it better, her Creedence Clearwater Revival CD did the trick!Miss Holiday had lots of fun having a slumber party with her auntie Kelsey during her first night spent in a hotel room. She sleeps in a baby hammock at home so we weren't sure how she would do sleeping in the crib that the hotel provided, but, even though she woke up a few times to eat, she slept in her big girl bed all night long. She was even a good sport about taking her bath in the sink.

Saturday, we surprised Auntiebom Amy at her softball game.

Kaya was the littlest Cal fan in attendance and she had fun sitting with her Grandma and watching Cal win the game!
After the game, we got to spend some time with Amy. Kaya had only met her once before and that time they had only gotten to spend about 20 minutes together. This time, they got to spend a whole night together in the hotel room! Kaya loves her Auntiebom and we can't wait until she comes home and can play with us all summer long!
Sunday was Kaya's first Easter. The Easter bunny didn't visit our hotel room but his assistant (Auntie Kels) gave us tickets to the Dodger game on Friday for Easter and my Bunkalunks was the cutest Easter egg ever in her special little suit that Jazmin and Barbara gave her. 

We had lots of fun but we were very happy to get home and see Papa after a long, long drive. 

I could get used to this.

Kaya slept through the night for the first time last night. 'Twas glorious.

Meeting Auntie Amy

Amy is away at school at Cal Berkeley so she hadn't gotten to meet Kaya yet. We finally, 6 weeks later, brought Kaya to watch Amy play softball yesterday and they got to meet for the first time.

We miss her so much and can't wait for her to come home for summer! Kaya was an angel even when it got loud and cold at the stadium.

Growing up.

When we got this jammie suit at the baby shower, my mom told me to return it. It was "Preemie" size and we had no reason to think Kaya would ever be that small. When she was born, it was the only thing that actually fit her and ended up being what we brought her home from the hospital in. This morning, a month and a half later, it became the first thing I had to box up and put away because she has outgrown it.

I'm an emotional wreck. Don't get big. I will cry.

Panic Attack v.1

Kaya's umbilical cord stump fell off while I was changing her diaper today. I just stood there, staring at her big girl belly button while my eyes filled with tears. My little girl is growing up.

I'm not entirely sure how I am going to deal with things like her first day of kindergarten or her first prom if the shedding of a nasty scab has affected me to this extent. Jesus, take the wheel.

How creepy is it if I save the stump for posterity?