3 more months

I have 3 months left of having a two year old. I must say time has more than flown by. We started out with this perfect little peanut and now I have a full fledged little girl. She doesn't even look like a baby anymore. Sigh....

We were very lucky. The terrible twos weren't really an issue. We had the occasional meltdown but nothing that didn't pass in a few minutes. We did have to put her in timeout maybe a handful of times and each time she sat quietly waiting for it to be over and then was fine.

As we say goodbye to the two's and hello to the three's a lot of things have changed. Kiya is still sassy and sweet but now has developed the whine. Oh yes, we have a very whiny kid right now. I am hoping it is a phase and it will pass QUICKLY. I mean it is really sweet when she says " Mommy, snuggle. Mommy snuggle." But when she says it while we are driving the car or trying to go grocery shopping it can be a little much. And the drawn out whiny voice...wow. She has mastered it.

She has also become more defiant. No has returned as one of her favorite words and she is becoming sneaky. We have had to do time out a couple of times recently for talking back. She is so full of life and sass...she has her own ideas and those don't always line up with what mommy and daddy need for her to be doing.

We are also proud to say she is daytime potty trained. Sure there is still the occasional accident as in one or two every few weeks but that is age appropriate. She is also getting  better about telling us when she has to go and she has been better about telling us she has to poop too. She is such a big girl now.

She is also conquering her cast. She doesn't have the same range of motion or even sight as other kids her age so things like pulling up or pulling down her pants are a tad more challenging. She has now mastered taking off her shorts (and night time pull up) and she is getting better about pulling up her underwear. She is also putting her own sandals on.

She is doing very well in preschool. She knows the days of the week and the months of the year. She is singing all the time and really is quite good at it. We can't wait to sign her up for dance but most places want her to be 3 when she starts the class so we have to wait for the winter/spring sessions. Her teachers are so proud of her and impressed with her singing, writing and more. They say she listens very well and follows directions well. Glad she is going that for them....not so much here sometimes.

Then in January we have to register or at least try for 3 year old preschool at our local private school. They don't take many kids so if that doesn't work out she will stay at her current school and we will try the private school again for 4k.

I am ready and not ready in this weird way for Kiya to grow up. I love seeing her develop and learn and yet part of me misses my little peanut. Nothing I can do to stop or slow time so horrible 3's here we come :) I am slightly terrified to see what she comes up with next.

35 and life

I have my laptop back so hoping blogging will become more frequent but no guarantees.

I recently turned 35. Yup I am 5 years away from the big 40. How did this happen? Where did the time go? I am not completely sure. What I am sure of is a few things. My life is not anything I thought it would be and yet I wouldn't change a thing.

First off I knew I wanted to get married. I just had to find the right guy. Lucky for me I met him when I was almost 20. I knew pretty early on that this was the guy I wanted to spend my life with. I am pretty lucky. I dreamed of our wedding, our future, our family and so much more.

My wedding was nothing shy of perfect. There were a few little behind the scenes things but all in all it was everything I wanted and more.

I had a job that I loved, a new husband and I lived in sunny CA oh and we got our first little one, our pug Sebastian. He was my baby for so many years and he still is. If you had asked me then that 11 years later I would be living in WI, working at a bank, having just one child and another pug I would have told you all you were CRAZY. If you then told me that I would never get pregnant, travel to Ethiopia and Korea before I stepped foot in more than just an airport in Europe, I would have deemed you certifiably NUTS.

Me not live in CA? No way. Me quit my Student Affairs career, nope not going to happen. Have only one child at age 35, uh no. I wanted to be done having kids by the time I was 30. I was finally blessed with the gift of motherhood just weeks shy of my 33rd birthday while traveling in Ethiopia. My next little isn't yet known to me(hopefully soon) and they won't be joining us here in lovely WI until I am 36.

I am a planner and I had my life planned out in my head anyway. I got married at 23, wanted to have 2 maybe 3 kids by my early 30's at the latest. I dreamed of advancing in my career in higher education and of traveling. When things started to not go my way it was tough. I am a complete control freak and when I couldn't control or fix our infertility it was beyond frustrating but it did teach me a lot.  I learned that when my plans don't work out I may be devastated but a door is opening some place else I just need to be willing to look for it.

I have found many doors. The doors that led me to adoption. To international adoption. The doors that led me to my amazing cast mom friends and Shriner's hospital. I am very blessed.

My life may not be what I pictured it would be a t 35 but as I look back I wouldn't change a thing. There were some tough times in there and all of those made me a stronger person. I had to fight through. I was forced to set my plans aside and really dig deep. Really dig to the depths of my soul. Did I want to be pregnant or be a Mom? I wanted to be a Mom. I didn't need to be pregnant. In fact I laugh with friends that I have this amazing daughter and soon to be little one and didn't have the weight gain, back aches or labor. Did I really want to be a career driven Mom or a stay at home Mom? I really really want to be a stay at home mom and we are getting closer to that being a reality. Nothing against working moms but it just isn't for me. I want to enjoy as much of my kids when they are little as I can.

No one wants anything to be wrong with their kids but life happens and as such doors were opened to the world of scoliosis.  I wish I didn't have to deal with it yet with it came this amazing group of women that I am honored to call my friends. From each of them I have learned so much. I pray our next child will not have any unexpected medical issues but I know that with life and international adoption there are no guarantees and because I was thrown a curve back the first time I know that I can handle whatever is thrown at me this time.

As I look back at life, I have left some of the planner behind. I cringe when I hear younger people talk about all the plans they have and when they want to have kids, etc. I hope for their sake it all comes true but if it doesn't the disappoint can be a lot to handle. It was for me anyway and took me a little while to get my head back on straight.

I tend to roll with life a little better now which is good. I struggled as a new mom when Kiya wasn't doing things other kids her age did but I just let that go. Kiya is amazing and perfect in her own way. She may not jump and she can't swim or run as fast but I want her to learn from my self inflicted pressure that it is perfectly okay to do things at your own pace.

If my plans had come true I wouldn't have Kiya. I wouldn't be anxiously awaiting for the phone to ring with news of our next little one. I wouldn't be still picking out baby names or looking at flight options to Korea.

I am a very blessed individual. I have this amazing family, great friends and better yet one and soon to be 2 amazing kids. So while life isn't what I thought it would be I am so beyond grateful that life is what it is. I am a very lucky girl.

Learning Curve

We are adjusting to our new normal. We all have a lot to learn. Just about everything is different now. The one constant is Kiya's super silly, sassy personality. She is back and full of attitude.

We gave her a sponge bath in the laundry room sink. That was a little interesting but went okay. It will get better. We haven't attempted hair washing yet but will this weekend.

Diapering is going okay. She isn't a big fan of it but is getting a little better with it. It just feels different and we have to tuck the diaper up under her cast in front and back.

The two biggest challenges we have had have been eating and sitting. When Kiya was sitting in her high chair with the tray on, she couldn't really see her food and she couldn't reach her sippy cup in the cup holder. It was a little better when we took the tray off and pushed her up to the table. We have now moved on to the booster seat right up to the table and that appears to be the best option. Her arm span is a little shorter now with the cast on so she can't reach as far.

Then there is sitting up. She really can't sit up all that well by herself. She needs to be leaning up against something. She has sat up without support but not for long and it appears to be uncomfortable for her.

So we still have some little kinks to work out but we are all moving forward and learning and adjusting. Kiya is a total rock star and has been amazing. Sure she is whiny, demanding and full of attitude but I am pretty sure that isn't all cast related as she is almost two and well has always been full of drama :)

I am pretty convinced that we have the most adaptable, accepting, loving, sweet and sassy little girl.

**Updates on Kiya's progress in Kiya's Kare Korner

19 months old

Miss Kiya is officially 19 months old today. I can hardly believe it. My little Peanut looks like such a big girl.

Here are some things the fabulous Miss Kiya has learned in the last month:

1) To use a cup holder. She places her sippy cup in the cup holder on the high chair and in the car. We have come a long way from her sippy cup throwing days :)

2) She has learned 5 almost 6 animal sounds. She can do cow, sheep, dog, cat, lion and we are teaching her snake :)

3) She has learned to say "yes" or "yeah" in response to questions. We don't get no all the time anymore which is so nice. And she is using it in the right context too.

4) When we ask Kiya if she is sassy, she responds with "sassy". So cute and so true.

5) She learned a little girl's name in daycare, Kylie. The sad part is that little girl is aging out of the room next week. Think she can say Donovan...that's the boy that is replacing Kylie.

6) She is learning how to pull up her pants. She can't quite get it but she is close.

7) She is learning (slowly) how to ask nicely for her music or a book. She has heard her CD's so much that she anticipates which song is up next or will ask for certain songs. Example: if she is clapping her hands she wants "If you're happy and you know it" and if she says "oe oe oe" she wants "Old MacDonald had a farm".

8) She has kicked a ball.

9) She has started asking, "What's this?"

10) Kiya has always been fascinated with garbage trucks but she can accurately point to the garbage truck in a puzzle my MIL gave her.

11) She is really quite good at brushing her teeth. I still help A LOT but she really likes to do it.

12) At bedtime, she gives us both hugs and kisses and then points to her crib.

13) She has learned to climb up the slide :)

14) She has decided that the big kids playground is way more fun than the little kids playground. She likes the big slides. Even the big curvy slides. She is such a daredevil.

So as you can see Miss Kiya is busy, busy learning new things all the time. We are so proud of her and all she has accomplished. We can't wait to see what she does next. We are hoping it is walk but you know we can't force her we can only encourage her. We have gotten up to 3 or 4 steps walking alone between Mom and Dad before she dives forward in a fit of laughter. Oh silly girl....we shall see what the ortho doc thinks tomorrow.