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

Around the World

So, our posts have been few and far between, but the miles Kaiya has traveled have been many!

At the end of September, Chris completed a triathlon as a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We took a weekend trip down to Florida (we flew), and Kaiya went to Rain Forest Café and Walt Disney World for the very first time (we visited Epcot). We also got to ride in the very front of the monorail with the driver.

State count: 10
Country count: 1






MAKING NEW FRIENDS
The day we returned from Florida, we met a new friend in the Dayton airport. Laura is a friend of ours from Scotland, who will be living with us for a year before going to University in the fall. It took a few days for Kaiya to warm up to her, but now they are great friends!

CORN MAZE
To help Laura make new friends, we went to a corn maze for the first time. It was lots of fun, and mom, dad, and Kaiya made it out first!

WALK THIS WAY, TALK THIS WAY
October 3: Kaiya said her first word – “Mama!”
October 11: Kaiya takes her first steps!

GRABBED BY THE GHOULIES
In October, Chris, Kaiya, Laura and I all entered the Ghosts and Goblins 5K run/walk. The ladies all enjoyed the stroll. It was a bit wet and rainy, so we tried out the jogging stroller with a newly-purchased rain cover. It worked quite well and kept her toasty. I think next year I’ll enter her into the costume contest! Speaking of costumes, we did take Kaiya out around the neighborhood on Halloween. We put her in this outfit from Japan.

ANOTHER WEEKEND TRIP
At the end of October, we went up to Pennsylvania for an RP Missions trip. It was here that Kaiya decided to show off for everyone. She mastered the art of walking. I think she was trying to get it in before she turned 11 months!
State count: 11
Country count: 1

IRON BABY
So maybe Kaiya didn’t swim, bike, and run 140.6 miles in early November, but she completed an “Iron Baby” challenge of her own. We drove down from Ohio to Panama City, Florida, for Chris’ race – we drove through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. She was a champ in the car! Then on the day of the race, we woke her a little after 6 a.m. for the start of the swim, and she didn’t get to bed until after midnight when the race was over! And, for the most part, she was very well behaved. During the day, we were up in the room, and Kaiya was walking around carrying thunder sticks and saying DaDa! DaDa! – How Cute!

We spent a week in Florida while Chris was recovering. Kaiya had mixed feelings about the sand, but she at least played in it a little bit and walked some – a huge step for a child with sensory and texture issues!

First Sand Castle

On our way home, we stopped near Chattanooga to visit some college friends and introduce them to our sweet Kaiya. So, our drive home skipped Alabama to go through Georgia.

State count: 13
Country count: 1

The Skinny on Kaiya

Part of the reason life has been so crazy is that Kaiya has been having some health issues. Here is a brief summary to bring you up to speed.

June: Kaiya turned 6 months at the end of May, and we decide to start trying solid foods.

July: Kaiya still not very successful with eating "solid" food, begins to refuse bottle.

Kaiya will suck on different foods, but as soon as bits fall off in her mouth, she spits them out. Here she is trying out a french fry.




Early August: Lisa begins to get concerned about Kaiya's eating, notices a drop in milk supply.

Mid-August: Kaiya going longer between feedings, but not actually eating more. Lisa takes her to the doctor's office. They aren't much help.

Late August: Kaiya goes for her 9 month check up. In just a short period of time, Kaiya has lost weight. She seems pretty miserable and is no longer nursing well. Still no progress with eating solids. Doctor seems to take it pretty seriously, because Kaiya's net weight gain from 6 months to 9 months is only an ounce. She now weighs less than 14 lbs. Kaiya categorized as "Failure to Thrive" and referred to a gastroenterologist.

While all this was going on, Lisa was impatient with the progress. So, she contacts Help Me Grow for a developmental evaluation. Kaiya is on target in every area except eating. Kaiya also begins visiting the chiropractor.

September: Chiropractor visits are improving Kaiya's nursing. Lisa's milk supply having problems keeping up with the demand. Talks with a lactation consultant on different ways to boost supply. Kaiya begins to gain weight again.

Kaiya is approved for occupational therapy services through Help Me Grow. At the same time, she goes to the GI specialist, who does some testing. Kaiya seems okay. May have a full feeding evaluation.

October: Kaiya is beginning to take the bottle again. She is up to 15 lbs! We take her back to the GI specialist for a weight check soon, and then a visit at the end of the month to check her progress.

Occupational therapy just started. She goes once a week for 1.5 hours. She had a lot of fun playing. We will keep you posted.

Now to leave you with something quite cute... Kaiya taking a few bites of baby food!

Standing Ovation

Wow! I started this post more than a month ago! As you may have guessed, life has been pretty crazy the last two months. There is so much to tell you about Kaiya – the last two months have been pretty eventful!

Kaiya started crawling in July, and she has been on the go ever since.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SSNW1ND_vCo (BTW, every time I try to load the videos, Blogger clears out everything in my post. So, you'll need to click on the links to view the video.)



Just a few days later, she started pulling herself up on objects. Now she is cruising along the edges.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hDqPwMuaOyg

Kaiya also attended her very first wedding in July. A co-worker of Chris’ got married up in Columbus. The ceremony was held in a conservatory, and we were able to get a tour. Kaiya loved looking at all the plants and butterflies.



The reception was held at a golf course.

While we waited for the bridal party, Kaiya entertained us with a game of peek-a-boo.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=52K0zkdWx5Q

In August, Chris’ brother Karl and our 5-year-old nephew flew out from Virginia for a visit. It was great to see them – it had been way too long. Kaiya and Gredan had tons of fun together. I almost wish that Kaiya had a big brother or sister to play with!

Kaiya has really started “talking” a lot, and she is already speaking in complete sentences. She says, “I did it” or “I do it.” Of course, she doesn’t realize what she is saying, but it is really cute. She is also imitating the sounds we make. She says “aiya” and makes g-sounds that sound like she is trying to repeat “good girl.” She also repeats sounds after we say “I love you,” so it sounds like she is saying it back to us.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=p63SKyu0hHc

The other night, Kaiya finally discovered the stairs. To this point, she hasn’t really shown any interest in them. But, she decided it was time to try them out. Not only did she make it up a step, she decided to crawl all the way to the top!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=biIjESPZxBU

Here are some cute photos of Kaiya: