David, Lisa, Kayla, Isaac & Annika

She seems to be changing a lot these days! Her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. She picks up several new words each day! These are some things she says:
*M&M's (we gave her some while on vacation in CO and she's since requested them... frequently!)
*Bu-Flies (Butterflies)
*Wal-lo (water)
*Bite (dip.... we think she calls it that because we always tell her to take a bite after dipping something?!)

*Climb (as in, she wants to climb on dad's back and get a ride)
*Back (as in, rub my back please!)
*Mess!
*OK (she says instead of yes!)
*No, no, no
*Airboat (she said instead of airplane!)
*Buckle (in her high chair, stroller, car seat, or anyone's stroller anywhere we go)
*Kayla (she says this anytime she wants to do something, like walk up the stairs on her own for example)
*Color (when she wants to draw)

*Help!
*There it is
*Two, Three (when we say One! she can count to 3.... usually because we are doing something fun, like swinging her, when we get to 3!)
*Park!! Swing! Slide! (she LOVES the park this spring!)

*(Where)’s Kayla? Peek-A-Boo!

*Love you!

She can sing along to several songs, catching a word here and a word there (Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ring Around the Rosy, Wheels on the Bus, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, I Cast All my Cares, If You're Happy and You Know It, ABC's and many others.... we love to sing together!). She knows and does some of the motions that go along with these too! I am impressed how quickly she picks things up. I'd sung the "If You're Happy and You Know It" song to her one day, after going probably months without ever singing it to her. Then 2 days after I'd sung the song only once or twice, we were at a friend’s house and a toy started playing that music and she got all excited and started clapping her hands and saying "happy"! I was impressed with her recognition skills!

We joke about her being French! When she gives goodnight kisses she gives a kiss on each cheek! And sometimes she says "C'est Kayla"!

She is also imitating more and more things we do and faces we make! David was making these hilarious faces with her the other day at Costco and I was laughing SO HARD at how cute she was. She was scrunching up her nose and furrowing her brows and then laughing! It was adorable!

Her eating habits are changing all the time. Some days it's a struggle to have her eat anything. Others it's a struggle to get food to her fast enough! Lately she's been eating a really good breakfast (oatmeal with berries... she holds onto the spoon with one hand while she shovels the food into her mouth with the other hand!) and lunch, but dinners are hit or mess. There was one week where she consisted on nothing but cheese, milk, pretzels, blueberries and fruit snacks! Overall she's a pretty good eater, she eats most food except pasta, eggs and pancakes which she consistently refuses). She is significantly more picky and choosy about what she'll eat - whereas when she was younger she would eat anything we'd put on her plate.

She is showing her independence more and more each day. She likes to walk to and from the car and to and from stores/YMCA/church/etc now. She likes to walk up stairs holding a railing or our hand instead of scampering up on her hands and knees. She likes to dress herself, although she isn't coordinated enough to do it yet. She does try to put on her socks and shoes and pants and PJ's and jacket... and sometimes she gets frustrated that she can't do it and won't let us help her. She has mastered getting OFF her pants and can unzip and take off her own jacket or sweater. And of course she is good at getting the socks and shoes off.

There are two funny things she’s recently started to do. The first is that she’ll grab your face and turn it to look at her if you are doing something other than paying full attention to her. So, if I’m trying to check my email and she wants me to listen to what she’s saying, she’ll take both hands and grab my face and point it to her! Pretty cute, although sometimes you need to get something done and it’s hard to do it when she’s turning your face! The other is that she’s started grabbing our hands and dragging us to where she wants us. Like, if she wants something to eat, she’ll say “snack”, and then run and grab our hand and drag us into the kitchen to get something! I think it’s pretty funny that she’s started to do both of these things. She really is learning that she can have an impact on our lives and she can “make” us do what she wants us to do.

She is very affectionate. She gives lots of kisses and of course receives lots of kisses too (almost exclusively on the cheeks... for whatever reason it makes me a little uncomfortable to kiss her on the lips, or to have someone else kiss her on the lips)! She runs up and gives us hugs all the time! I love it! Recently her hand got scraped by a stray wire that had come out of our mess laundry basket - it was so sad, I felt terrible. For at least a week, everywhere we went (the YMCA, Meijer, church nursery - everywhere) she told EVERYONE that she had a "boo-boo". And then showed them her "band" (band aide), and then I would kiss it better. It was hilarious! We kept a band aide on her hand for just a few days, but every day after that she wanted one and would beg and plead! Also, we keep a bottle of Tylenol on her nightstand in case we ever need it at bedtime or whatever. Kayla loves to grab at this bottle and almost always is looking for us to give her some! I always say something to the effect of, "Sweetie, that's for when you are sick, and you aren't sick!" Well, the other day she had a runny nose and when I got her after a nap she looked at me and pointed to the Tylenol and said, "Sick! Me-cin (medicine)!" Sadly for her I didn't give her any, but it was pretty cute anyway!

She loves drinking out of straws and loves to try to eat with a fork or spoon. She is getting much better about the coordination of these things, but of course is still really messy!

I just noticed this week that she got the top two of her 2nd molars... so she now has 18 teeth! Only 2 more baby teeth to go!

We have joined Meijer Gardens again this year, and have already taken advantage of that! Kayla LOVES the butterfly's so very much and requests to see them daily. After we'd been the first time, she asked the next day to go see them, and I told her we would go soon. The next morning she woke up saying "Bu-fly's! Soon!" So.... we went again, and have been back several times! We have the kind of membership where we can take 2 friends for free, so if anyone wants to go.... let us know! It's a fun place for a playdate! :)

We love this stage. It has its challenges, but it's SO much fun!