Girls Only Trip
Kayla and I took a trip to MA this past week to visit Grandma and Grandpa Slighter! We had a really fun time. I got in some major relaxing, read another book, was able to get another nice break from Kayla, and enjoyed the company of my parents! It is just so fun seeing them interact with Kayla. She was such a pleasure on the trip... she made the plane rides as easy as they could be, given that she's an active child. She took naps when she needed to, and didn't scream or even cry really at all (much to the pleasure of everyone else on the plane)! And she was her usual cheery self the whole time we were in MA! My parents just loved having her (I mean us!!!) there!
My mom is by trade a teacher (although she hasn't taught since before I came around!), and you can totally tell by the way she interacts with Kayla! She was teaching her so many new things, and gave me a lot of new ideas of how to interact and teach Kayla. And I got to see some sides of Kayla that I hadn't before. My mom taught her what a clock is and what a fan is.... and when prompted ("Kayla, where's the clock") she'd point to it! One time she even said "tick" when we asked her where it was (because my mom was saying "tick, tick, tick goes the clock")! I was amazed. And Kayla mastered some of the toys my mom had (like how to sit in the chair, etc) quickly. It was so fun to see her learn things. Also, my parents have a back massage "toy" that Kayla enjoyed. When you press the button the massage balls turn neon blue and vibrate. Well, Kayla loved to have her head and back massaged with this, but she isn't quite strong enough to push the button so it will stay on (she can push it and it goes on for a second, until she takes her finger off). Well, Kayla realized this, and yanked my dad's finger to the button for him to push it for her! What a smart and resourceful girl!! So fun! She clearly is learning the whole cause and effect relationship, and I just love it!
One morning mom took Kayla and me to the Children's Discovery Museum. We had a blast! Kayla kept walking from room to room and playing with the new things in each room. They have a water room, a kitchen room, a jungle room, a cause & effect room (I think we could have spent hours in that room alone, it was fascinating to adults too!!) and many more.... each with different toys, obstacles and colors! It was the perfect place for someone her age, and for years to come. Due to a pre-school field trip, we weren't able to spend too long there, so we'll have to go back next time!
We also took Kayla swimming in a kiddy pool at LCA. It was a little cold, but she had a good time. We gave her a noodle to play with too, but she was far more interested in tearing off pieces of that with her teeth!
As always, leaving family is hard. We have such a good time when we go to visit. This was the longest we've been away from David (we were gone Friday-Wednesday) and we missed him.... so it was nice to come home and spend time with him! Thankfully, my parents will be out here in just a few weeks, so the good-bye was only for a short time!