Riverdance

Or possibly Lord of the Dance. Let me explain:

Kaya loves to play toddler games on our iphones. One game involves putting pieces of various things together - kind of like a puzzle. There are trains, a windmill, etc. One is some sort of musical instrument. Kaya loves this one. Once it's done, it plays this jaunty little song, and Kaya goes crazy and dances all over the house. I've never seen someone stomp their feet so fast. I might have to put her in Tap lessons.

On a side note, she hates the noise the battery makes in this puzzle. She always makes me do it.

Tea

When Kaya says she's thirsty, it comes out more with an f sound. So here's a conversation Kaya and Daddy had last week:

Kaya: "I'm Firsty"
Daddy: "Do you want some water?"
Kaya: "Yes, I'm Firsty!"
[Daddy hands Kaya the water. Kaya takes a sip]
Daddy: "It's pronounced "Thirsty". Thirsty. With a "T". "
Kaya: [stops drinking] "That's not Tea daddy, that's water.

Wonderland

Kaya visited Dutch wonderland for the first time this evening, and she loved it! she had a great time driving Momo around on the turnpike (although she really wanted the yellow car), sliding down a big silo slide with other kids, and sliding down a huge slide on Daddy's lap! She also rode the rollercoaster 3 times, and the monorail once. She also was able to pat a bunny rabbit and a chicken. We'll be going back to Wonderland soon!

Fun talks

Kaya chatters on alot, but talks the most when we're in the car coming home from school, or when she's in the shower.. So far, I hear..
- That Jasper is the monster, and he chases us. Kaya, Ryan, and Kalonji - we run!
- That Kaya doesn't want to wear shoes, just " her feet".
- That she doesn't want her hair in a barrette or ponytail - she "Just wants her hair".
- That Ryan is her good buddy.
- That [insert anything here] that is NOT cool.

In the shower, it sounds like a zoo. The crab, the dog, the cat, the seahorse, and no less than 2 my little ponies all take turns getting dunked in the Cinderella bucket (possibly against their will), or each have to have a shot at wearing this beaded necklace. Kaya never wants to get in the shower, but once she's in, she's happy there for at least 30 mins.

In terms of her (8000) stuff animals, everyone gets put to bed these days. Everyone gets a chance to go "night night" while wrapped up in full size blankets. Sometimes they even get to sleep in a row.

If there are ever three of anything, there is always the Daddy dino, the Mommy Dino, and the Baby Dino. and sometimes they all have to hug it out.

Ooh, Baby Baby

When Kaya was born, we received one of those cards that play music. This one says "Babies Rock" on the outside, and when you open it up, it plays that song..

almost 3 years later, Kaya has discovered it, and was running around the bedroom one night singing "ooh baby baby" while madly giggling. It took me a few minutes to figure out what she was saying, and then I was laughing so hard I was crying.

nothing really prepares you, as a parent, for the day your kid sings Ooh baby baby to you. LOL.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear

Out of the blue, Kaya recited this entire book to us while we were laying in bed one night. We were really impressed that she remembered all the linkages..and even more impressed because WE DO NOT have this book at home! In fact, we've never read it! guess she's been paying attention at school. :)

Wow, it's been a year

You can tell it's been busy, since it's been a year since I've gotten to write about Kaya. So much has happened in the last year. For one, she's given up "dis dis dis, ha ha ha" although she still likes to see it and check up on it every once in awhile, which is funny. That's just been within the last month though! She talks all the time now, and says the funniest things (or at least I think they are hysterical):
- Where is HIM?
- Pass the 'mercials.
- I want to go to 'Muda.
One day on the car ride home recently, Kaya had a 10 min conversation with me about motorcycles. She said that she wants to ride a motorcycle "someday" and that it will be a quiet motorcycle, not a loud one. She told me she would ride up front, and I could ride in the back! When I asked her what color hers would be, she said hers would be yellow, momo's would be purple, and papa's would be pink! then she changed her mind and said papa's could be red.

What else has happened in the past year? let's see...
Kaya started at a new school - Bright Horizon's - and she's very happy there. She has a boyfriend named Ryan, and she hugs his mom every day. Her teacher is Ms. Tina, who is awesome. Kaya also went on some great vacations - to the Caribbean on a cruise with Nanae, Pop Pop and Uncle John, to Disney with Mom and Dad, and to Bermuda with Momo and Poppop. Not a bad year! Over the winter, it snowed a few feet, and Kaya got to go sledding in the back yard for the first time. she loved it when I would pull her down the hill really fast and we would crash (meaning the sled ended up on it's side - Kaya really liked to crash. )
Kaya is fully potty trained now (except at nights). But before she was trained, she was very particular about the diapers she was wearing. For example, there was a phase of only wanting to wear the Dora in the Yellow Dress diaper, followed by cinderella only, and now sleeping beauty (those are the overnight ones). Back when she was potty training, she had an accident on the bathroom floor at school, and she looked at her teachers and said "That was NOT cool".
These are the things I like to remember.

The year of age 2 to age 3 has been such a fun year developmentally. Physically she's lost alot of the babiness about her and looks like a little girl now. Her face is slimmer and her legs are so long. but mentally has been the best. The conversations we have are fun, and it's evident that her thought processes are more mature. She says things like "someday" or "not yet". And she argues every single point - if I say the sun is up, she'll say it's down. If I say her hair is wet, she'll say, "It's not wet, it's dry!". And she can be quite a drama queen about things, but we love her anyway. ha ha.
Favorite shows right now: Dora, Diego, Bolt, and Up. And Blues Clues.
Favorite foods: Pizza (but only the take-out kind), Popsicles, Italian Ice
Favorite clothes: Polka dot dresses (one is getting waaaay too small) and dresses in general.
Favorite activity: Art. She loves to paint with brushes, and she also has filled up about 10 Dot Art books too.
Favorite Color: Yellow and/or Purple (she seems to alternate, but we love the way she says "YellYo".
Her cats: "Guig-giss" and "Fifi". Too funny. They are less afraid of her now, and actually play together.
In the shower: she has a zillion toys, and talks to them constantly the whole time she's in there - she likes to make them all wear necklaces. She calls the cat's collars "necklaces" too!