And so it begins!

Ok so yeah I know im a bit into fitness and stuff like that but I dont think this is too much too soon. Enjoy Kaiya's first bike ride!

Breathing a long overdue sigh of relief

Well it appears we have at this point, after 1.5+, years weathered the storm that is Kaiya's eating issues. Kaiya is doing really well right now and eating like a champ. Currently she is still in therapy twice a week but it looks like at the end of the month her occupational therapy will be over and similarly her speech therapist keeps saying that shes doing so well she doesn't think she will be seeing her much longer. To give an example, a year ago during speech therapy it was a total fight to get Kaiya to sit still long enough for the therapist to rub a towel over her arms and legs. Now she doesn't really care! Also it was a tooth and nail fight to get her to eat a whole jar (small) of baby food in a flavor she liked. At this past weeks session she ate an entire fish stick (first time ever trying one) and then ate a whole hot dog! The fish stick is huge especially from a texture standpoint and then also from a new foods aspect. Shes doing so well it just makes Lisa and I are so happy. Shes gaining weight, filling out, and just looking really healthy and happy to us.

A wee note to my dear Kaiya
Sweet little bear I dont know how technology will continue to evolve and what this blog will be or if it will be when you are older. But in case you are older at some point and reading this. We have been just so worried about you for so long its so nice to feel like you are doing better. We love you so much and would do anything for you! We thank the Lord for you everyday and you are just the most special little girl we have ever met. ^_^

Best Buds

Kaiya has a BFF. His name is Conner. They are absolutely adorable with each other. He is almost 2 months older than Kaiya.

(BTW, for some reason, a couple posts from July never appeared on Kaiya's blog. Scroll down to see two "never-before-seen" entries with lots of cute Kaiya pics.)

Case of the Giggles

So this past weekend we went for a visit to Michigan to see my cousins and daddy got me and my cousin Hailey playing. Enjoy!

Cute Pics for December

Ok so the first one is kaiya helping decorate for xmas! SOOO cute!



And this one is right before bed last night. I love these jammies and she makes little growling sounds like a tiger when she wears them. RAWR! TOO FREAKING CUTE!

totally cute pic

So in general Kaiya is doing really well and even though she is still not gaining weight as quick as we would like there is a chance she will be done with one of her therapies by the first of next year! Anyway Lisa just snapped this pic a couple of days ago and i just can not believe how old Kaiya looks in this picture.

Enjoy!

Another 18 month Pic!

A pic and some vids for your enjoyment

Well We have been really busy and we have not had much of a chance to blog so pics have been few and far between. HOWEVER! Here is a montage if you will of media to make everyone happy

Kaiya at 18 months!!!!

Here is Kaiya just 3 days ago. I cant believe how FEERLESS she is getting!



this one was a few months ago. Yes I know its sideways yes I know thats probably easy to fix. Deal with it!

Kaiya loves the soft block room at the Y and I made up this little Obstacle Course for her and she LOVED it!

Cute Photos

Saying Bye-Bye

After nearly a nine month stay, Laura left in mid-June to return home to Scotland. Enjoy these cute pics as a tribute to her time here in the states.

BEFORE AND AFTER

Kaiya at Laura's welcome party (10 months) and going away party (18 months).

The Knodel family the weekend before Laura arrived and just before she left.

Kaiya and Spongebob -- Laura's two favotires :-)

Bath time with Laura

GROWING UP WITH LAURA

(This isn't the most flattering photo of Kaiya, but it is a picture of the first time Laura put a clip in her hair.)

TOGETHER TIME

Kaiya helps with the packing

LAST DAY TOGETHER

Meet My Cousin

Today my new little cousin, Akane, was born. She lives in Japan with my Uncle Jason and Aunt Momoko. I can't wait to meet them all. I guess until then I'll just look at this really cute picture and read her blog. You can, too.

UPDATE 7/10/08: Here is an updated photo of my cousin with my Uncle Jason. A lot of you have never seen him.

Toofers

Just before Kaiya turned 17 months, we were vacationing in Florida, soaking up the rays, playing in the pool -- having a grand time. Then, much to our dismay, we boarded a plan to fly from Daytona to Dayton (always the wrong way, if you ask me!). But Kaiya knew how to brighten our spirits.

As we were about to take off, Kaiya grabbed my hand and started chewing on my finger. I thought this would be a great opportunity to get some sensory input into her mouth And then, there it was -- oww, something sharp. Yes, finally, Kaiya had a tooth coming in! An upper incisor.

In about two weeks time, Kaiya had 5 teeth coming in all at once. The progress has slowed since then, but we are now up to 10 teeth total -- two that have completely come in and 8 that have broken through her gums. I guess I should have known that with her getting teeth so late, she would be anything but typical. She has all four upper incisors coming in, two lower incisors, and all four of her first molars! (If you look closely at the photo above, you can see one of her upper teeth on the right side of the photo.)

Here is a chart for reference -- she has her 1 and 2 uppers, her 1 lowers, and all her fours.

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