Andrej, Jessica, Kaiya and Tobi

This morning I left Kaiya playing in the living room and headed into the kitchen to wash our breakfast dishes. I could hear her chatting away and making various noises that sounded like normal play. I heard her go to her room and back to the living room and back to her room a couple of times, all very normal. As I was finishing up I realized that things had gotten way too quiet and I should probably peek in to see what she was up to. (Read more …)

We recently experienced one of our scariest moments with Kaiya thus far. I thought the bee sting at 13 months was bad, but that was nothing. Andrej, Kaiya and I were playing in the kitchen floor while our chicken casserole was in its last few minutes of baking before dinner. Kaiya was signing hungry over and over, so to keep her from starving I went ahead and gave her a sippy cup of milk.

She was running around the kitchen and diving in Andrej’s arms. On one of her rounds she accidentally tripped over my foot and fell abruptly into Andrej. She immediately started screaming the infamous toddler scream with a wide open mouth that is silent for a few seconds before the wail comes. Andrej and I looked at each other confused because she really hadn’t hit anything hard. She didn’t hit the tile floor, just Andrej’s leg. On her second open-mouth-silent-before-the-wail cry, I caught a glimpse of blood. I jumped up from the floor and told Andrej that I thought she had bitten her tongue because there was blood. (Read more …)

On Halloween we took Kaiya in for her 15-month well baby check-up. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I scheduled that appointment on Halloween, knowing it would include shots, but in the end it was fine and Kaiya had no problems trick-or-treating. She weighed in at an unbelievable 26 lbs! I knew she was getting heavy, but 26 lbs is a lot of baby. Once again we forgot to ask what percentile that is, but I have a feeling she is topping the charts. She was just over 32” tall. Our doctor assured us that her appetite and weight gain will start to slow down over the next few months. The check-up concluded that Kaiya is healthy and right on target developmentally.

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At Kaiya’s 12 month well-baby check-up, she weighed in at 23 pounds and 2 ounces. That is with her clothes on and a clean diaper. At all of her other check-ups we had to strip her down and put her on a little baby scale, but at her 12 month check-up, Miss Kaiya got to stand on the big person digital scale and get weighed just like mommy and daddy. She stood there so patiently until the nurse announced her weight. We forgot to ask what percentile she is in, but I’m sure she is still topping the charts. Kaiya measured 30 and ½ inches tall, and since I’m dropping numbers she also has ten little pearly white teeth. She got a great report from the doctor and the go ahead to wean her to cow’s milk as soon as we are ready.

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Last Wednesday, July 26, we celebrated Kaiya’s first birthday and our survival of the first year of parenthood by collecting my parents from the airport and going to Chili’s for dinner. It was and still is so hard to believe an entire year has passed.

My friend’s son, Ian, put into words exactly what Andrej and I have been thinking lately. As Ian entered the room where we were, he looked strangely at Kaiya as she stood in the middle of the room playing with a toy. He turned to his mom and asked, “Where is Baby Kaiya?” His mom, understanding why he would be surprised to see Baby Kaiya standing up all by herself, explained, “That is Baby Kaiya. She just isn’t a baby anymore.” Satisfied with her answer, he looked at Kaiya and simply said, “Oh.”

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In honor of Kaiya turning eleven months, I decided to finally finish and add her name story to our website. You’ll find it by clicking here or clicking on the link named, Naming Kaiya, on the side bar under About Us. Andrej wanted to add this new section to the side bar for “special” posts like this one. Kaiya’s birth story will hopefully make its way there soon.

I cannot believe my baby is about to celebrate her first birthday! Where has this first year gone? Kaiya is looking and acting more and more each day like a toddler and less and less like a baby. I feel sad that my baby is growing up, but at the same time excited for all the new things she is learning and experiencing.

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*Warning: This post contains snotty material. Read at your own risk.*

The Ciho clan is officially down for the count. All three of us have passed around a nasty cold that just won’t go away. It started last Wednesday morning when Kaiya woke up with a snotty nose that is still running full force a week later. Before becoming a parent I would find myself disgusted by a baby or a small child with a crusty nose or worse a sticky one that forms bubbles when they breathe. I just couldn’t understand why their parents wouldn’t just wipe it or blow it or do whatever they needed to do to clean up their child. Now, I understand. It’s impossible because it never ends!

Last Wednesday, when the madness began I had it under control. Kaiya would fuss a little, but we would both come out clean. By day two, the snot clearly had the upper hand. Every time I would come after Kaiya with a tissue she would crawl away as fast as she could. Once I caught her the battle was on. Her hands would flail around violently as she whipped her head back and forth screaming and crying. Usually, by the time I stepped back to survey the damage and give her a moment to catch her breath she looked a lot worse than when we began. The snot was no longer confined to the nose area, but spread all over her cheek and into her hair. Fun times!

Since then we’ve learned that two parents are better than one when snot is concerned, but when only one is present then one must use the changing table and all limbs available to hold baby in the perfect nose cleaning position. When is it that kids learn how to blow their own noses anyway?

I say all of that to say this cold is still kicking and hit me this past weekend, finally taking Andrej down on Tuesday. Today, I’m feeling much better, but A is still suffering and Kaiya, well…could someone please turn that faucet off!