fresh pics

Hiya! Random post with fresh pics from this past weekend of Kaiya in PA. Pics are of Kaiya at the zoo and hanging out with Kinsey Filbert as well as shopping with Laura

Everyone Loves Our Beach Girl

Despite some airline challenges, we took a family vacation to Florida in the middle of April. We were able to get some much needed R&R. The weather was a lot nicer in Daytona than it was in Dayton, but we had a few cool days.

On the coldest day, we went shopping in St. Augustine. Here Kaiya is demonstrating her excellent bargain-hunting skills.

Kaiya absolutely loved playing in the pool. The condo we were staying in had both an indoor and outdoor pool. We tried to take her in at least once each day.

Believe it or not, she did get sleepy from all the shopping we did. Check out her totally cute ruby slippers :-)

There is a Nascar restaurant in Daytona that I had never been to. Many of the booths are set up to look like racing cars. Here we are in one of the booths. (The waitress absolutely loved Kaiya and made her a special fruit smoothie, just because she was so cute!)

We also went to this activity center near the condo. They had a water park (closed when we were there), miniature golf, an arcade and go-carts.

Here is Kaiya after a swim. She has a cute little tankini and duckie robe.

It was at this restaurant we discovered what kind of music Kaiya really likes. Any guesses? She was dancing almost the whole time we were there... dancing to reggae! I guess the Bob Marley song really hits home for her: "I've got to have Kaiya now..."

Kaiya had a great time playing in the sand. She even got sand on her hands, feet, arms and legs. Only once did she get fed up with the sand and want out. That's so much improvement from our trip to Florida in November.

She also liked playing by the water. She let the waves splash up around her ankles, and she played in the wet sand. She also liked chasing the birds :-)

Here Kaiya is looking like a BIG girl in the airport. She was such a great traveler, and on the way back we had a layover in North Carolina. She is a well-traveled little girl.

(Yes, I realize that this is a pretty unflattering photo of me, but it is cute of Kaiya. And, NO, I'm not pregnant!)

We had a great time, and we will definitely need another family vacation soon. It was hard coming back to Ohio!

State Count: 16

Country Count: 1

Trip to Michigan

At the end of March, we took a weekend trip up to Michigan to see Kaiya's Uncle Rich, Aunt Becki, and cousins Ashleigh and Hailey. Hailey is just 5 days older than Kaiya, and it was a lot of fun watching the two of them play. I was amazed that, even though they go months without seeing each other, they are doing so many of the same things. They were just too cute!

State Count: 15

Country Count: 1

Scotland Knodels visit

Dick and Susan came for a visit in February. For those of you who don't know what they look like or haven't seen them in ages, here are pics of Chris' parents. (And, no, his mother is not a sheep!)

(Guess where Kaiya gets her red hair from...)

We took a trip to the outlets in Jeffersonville and went shopping. Here we are at Wendy's having lunch.

Here we are looking through all our bargain buys. And, Kaiya is borrowing Gran's cell phone.

It was a great visit, but didn't last nearly long enough!

BTW, Dick just received his Doctorate of Philosophy. Congratulations! Though folks in Airdrie offered to call him Dr. Knodel, he is insisting on Dr. Dickie. Be sure to give him a shout out next time you see him - with or without the sheep.

Catch Up

So, I've finally gotten around to updating Kaiya's blog. I've finished a post that I started back in October and loaded a bunch of new photos. So make sure you keep scrolling, even past the entries you have read, for new photos of Kaiya.

This post is probably going to be a little random, but I'm trying to remember what has happened with Kaiya since her birthday. She is now 16 months old. She weighed 17 lbs. 12 oz. when she went for a weight check a week ago, and she has NO teeth!

Chris and I had our very first overnight away in the middle of March. I think it was harder on me than Kaiya, but I only cried a little as we were leaving. Chris and I went to a second chance prom - complete with dinner, dancing and carriage rides. Even though we have known each other since middle school, we never got to go to prom together. The theme was "If I Could Turn Back Time." Here are some pictures.

Grandma and Grandpa Knodel came for a visit from Scotland for a few days in March. Kaiya was a bit shy, but I know they loved the time with her. Susan especially loved Kaiya's red hair! (For those of you who don't know, that's where Kaiya gets it from.)


In February, Kaiya played host for the RP Missions Team Leader training weekend. She was excited for the opportunity to play with Kinsey Filbert. Fortunately, Kaiya wasn't sick this time, and there was no trip to the hospital for four days. Unfortunately, Kinsey was a little under the weather, and the Filberts had to head home early.


We took a trip at Christmas to visit the New York Knodels. We stayed with Aunt Wendy and Uncle Gary on their farm. Kaiya thought the cows were hilarious.


Before we went, we purchased her some super cozy, super stylin’ boots. Check ‘em out.

State count: 14
Country count: 1

Here are some cute pics and video clips of Kaiya:

Just Chillin'

Cute Winter Hat - She has matching gloves

A Pic to Make Mom Smile While She Had a Board Meeting

Laura's Best Buds (We sure do shop a lot!)

Happy Valentine's Day 2008!

This is from September - the first time she climbed the stairs.

This is from September, as well, before Kaiya had any words. Now she says mama, dada, laura, no, yeah, dog, all done, nana (her word for food), hi. She talks all the time, but we just don't understand it yet!

Health Update

Over the summer, Kaiya was categorized Failure to Thrive. She has undergone a lot of testing in the last few months. She is now in feeding therapy twice a week for a total of 2 hours. The good news is that she is finally gaining weight. At her last appointment, she was 17 lbs. 4 oz. It’s not where they would like her to be, but she is finally getting back on the right track. We have come a long way in the last 5 months. It’s been a frustrating journey, but we are so excited for Kaiya to be growing and staying healthy!

Cute Video clip!!

Well a few months ago Kaiya was just having the most fun taking things from where they belonged and moving them to places they didnt. Like the floor.....or the trash. SO its with much joy and pleasure that I am now seeing my little girl (15 months today) actually doing things to help Lisa and me out. The first thing she started to do was to help put her blocks away after playing with them. And then today she helped Lisa with some chores. SO sit back and watch my big girl as she tries to help out around the house.




cheers!

I've found my niche!

As a new dad its often easy to feel left out of the important things in kaiya's life. I dont get to nurse her or really be that apart of her feeding. Not for lack of trying she just is not that thrilled with getting food from me. I spend the least amount of time with her of anyone in the house and in general like I said I think its easy for dads to feel like they really play little to no role in their childs life at this stage. I however have found my purpose! Every night I put Kaiya to bed. Its not that big of a deal I know but its special to me. It makes me happy that I might rarely be there to wake her up in the morning but almost every night im there to help make sure she has a good nights sleep. I say her night night prayers with her and then lay her down and just try to make her as comfy as possible. Sure its not always easy and most of the time shes going to sleep when I wish I was going to sleep. But its a way for me to give Lisa a bit of a break and for me to play a role in her daily routines and thats worth more to me than a bit of sleep. Its not always easy and well to be honest my little girl takes after her mom when it comes to being forced to do something she doesnt particularly want to be doing. But I love those moments just the same. I love being your dad Kaiya and I just wanted you to know that something as simple as being put down to sleep was something that I really cherish.

Sleep well little kuma chan, sleep well....

Happy Birthday!

It's Kaiya's first birthday!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday, dear Kaiya,
Happy Birthday to you!

You are truly an amazing blessing in our lives. It has been a fabulous year, and we love being your parents.

Pictures on her birthday

Pictures from Kaiya's first birthday party