Cast pictures--finally :)

llama llama again!

Kiya loves to read. She will sometimes be content just flipping through her books by herself or she will insist that you read them to her. She has some very clear favorites and those change over time. It used to be Princess Baby and Good Night God and then her Dora books and well now it is all about Llama Llama.

There are a total of 4 Llama Llama books. We own two. The other is only in hardback and the holiday one is a pre-order only right now. So this means that we read these same two books multiple times per day and I am not talking about twice each. Try more like 4 or more times each book everyday. She can't say llama so she screams for mama. She calls me mommy and the books mama. Very cute really.

These books are a little longer and she actually pays attention to them. She will sit or stand for the whole book and usually each time we read it. She loves them.  We get a little tired of reading them but they are cute books and it is a guarantee we will have the others. I am hoping they pop up on her daycare book sale list. That is how I got the other two and they were only $3 a piece.

So until then we will read llama llama and enjoy all of the baby llama drama. :)

Walking?

So tomorrow we hit two weeks in cast and 1 week in her ankle supports and guess what....we have a sort of walker :) She would take independent steps before but usually only after much coaxing and really only to me or to Dave.

Now that is not the case. On more than a few occasions today did I spot Miss Kiya taking off walking all on her own. She even stopped a few times even and just stood there not holding on to anything. She would walk from her toy box to the coffee table to get her sippy cup. She walked from the window to the couch to try and get the remote control. She walked from the couch to her table to play with her puzzles. I could go on but that would be boring. In the past Kiya would crawl to get to these things but it appears she might be leaving the crawling behind.

I am not going to say she is a full time walker yet but we have a solid part time walker. The best part is she will walk with her shoes and supports and without :)
My baby girl is going to be running soon...pray for us.

Life with a frustrated, determined and loud toddler

Kiya is doing fantastic. In fact her physical therapist was just so impressed with her. She couldn't believe how well Kiya was walking, bending, etc with her cast on and her ankle supports. She doesn't think it will be all that long before Kiya takes up walking full time. Right now it is a part time activity but standing is much more comfortable and as she gets used to her ankle supports that will help too. She also commented on how great Kiya's hand/eye coordination are, her verbal skills and just how well she will imitate sounds, words etc. The two of them had fun yesterday.

That said there are times when Miss Kiya gets frustrated. And her frustration leads to screaming. Sigh. Bring on the terrible two's. If she tips over and is in a corner somewhere she has a hard time maneuvering herself to be able to get out. Also since she still crawls at times and wears a lot of leggings, she slips and falls a lot on the carpet and the linoleum floors. Both of these require a scream and usually mommy asking if she needs help. If she says yes I help her otherwise I encourage her to try again and do it herself.

She also really wants to try to climb the stairs again. This Mama is not ready for that one. She is top heavy and only been in her cast a little over a week. Maybe in a few weeks....maybe....or not. Sounds scary.

She is very determined to do things herself yet sometimes she just can't, hence the frustration. She has a great vocabulary so we are encouraging her to use her words and not scream and if she is to whiny/screamy/frustrated we take a break. A break includes her sitting in her chair with her blanket (also known as tee tee thanks to a girl her age at daycare) and calming down. She gets up when she is ready and is usually in a better mood after that.

Volume control is an issue in that she doesn't have one. She is set to LOUD all the time doesn't matter if we are inside a store, at home or outside at the park. Screams of "hi, bye bye, nigh nigh" are all common.
We also hear a lot of "Mommy, Daddy, r you?" (as in where are you). Or my favorite, "Mommy, now or Daddy, now." She also repeats everything and since Badger can be a tad naughty at times and is told no a lot, she has been yelling at him. Poor guy. So we are also hearing, "Doggie, no. Sit." Doggie is Badger, Bassy is Sebastian. She rarely yells at her Bassy. Though I was calling for Sebastian to come inside and she was behind me saying, "Bassy,  Bassy, r u?" We are working on not saying no to Badger but that is tough. He has issues but we are trying to praise him and teach Kiya "Good Doggie".

Yesterday we were at the grocery store and she was singing which she does all the time and when she finished "wheels on the bus" she screamed "yeah". I told her she was being loud and she repeated "loud, loud, loud" to the tune of "wheels on the bus". Sigh. And no there was no inside voice at all. She is just loud and loves to hear herself and wants to make sure everyone can hear her too. It always cracks me up when a former teacher at daycare says that she doesn't hear Kiya talk much. I was like, really, try spending 30 minutes with her in the car.

So life has returned and we are settled into our new normal. Kiya is just a remarkable kid and I am truly in awe of her. Nothing is going to stop her and I think that is a great quality. Next week she starts her transition to her new room at daycare. I am not super thrilled about it as we will have brand new teachers that she doesn't know and will now have to deal with her cast. I foresee this Mama Bear having to step out and set up some guidelines but we shall see. I am trying to be open minded about it but I know what they are going to want and it isn't what I want. For example, Kiya falls asleep on her own. She doesn't need to be rocked and while I complain about nap fail she does just fine if she chooses to skip one. Apparently these teachers want all the children to sleep. Kiya sometimes sleep 13+ hours a night and therefore doesn't necessarily need a nap. In fact even in her current room on her daily sheet there was a frowning face because she only napped for a little over an hour one day. Sigh....sorry she is a curious kid and just can't be bothered with sleep.

How is she doing?

GREAT!

Check Kiya's Kare Korner for more details :)

I love this kid. She is a super star!

The depths of motherhood

This post has been in my head for awhile...not sure I am really read to write it but I am going to take a stab at it.

Motherhood was not always my dream. When I was 18 I was pretty sure I didn't want to have kids. When that changed I wanted a boy for sure no girls. Like I could have a say in that. Then I met my husband and I knew for sure that some day I wanted to be a mom and it really didn't matter if it was boy or a girl. I just had this gut feeling.

My journey to motherhood was challenging and full of heartache at times. There were needles and tests and drugs and waiting and more waiting and lots and lots of tears and stress. Then we decided to adopt. And with that there came waiting, heartache, tears and finally one cold day in January a call forever changed my life. I saw my daughter's face that day and I knew deep down in my soul that we meant for each other. I knew she had gone through so much and that she was so so tiny and so vulnerable and that somewhere 7000 miles away a dear, loving woman made a very difficult choice deep seated in her love for that little girl. The little girl I call my daughter.

All along my journey to motherhood, I am not sure I really got what it meant to be a mother through and through. Sure there is the day to day meeting of basic needs but it is so much more than that. Motherhood runs deep through me to my very core. I wasn't really prepared for how intensely you can love, nurture and advocate for a child. I didn't get it. I get it now.

My sweet Kiya is truly a gift from God. She is a force of nature and I have learned in these recent months that there is nothing I wouldn't do for this little girl. Nothing. A dear friend said on Tuesday, cast day, that she forgot for a moment that Kiya was adopted. She saw pure love, connection and family that day. That really touched me. I don't think too much about it but to know that someone looking in at our family saw just that a family formed by pure love...well there are no words to describe how that makes me feel. It is what I always hoped and dreamed about but to know that it shows through to others unfamiliar with adoption tugged at my heart.

Motherhood has forever changed me in ways I never dreamed possible and while my path to motherhood was long and difficult I wouldn't change a thing. I can't envision it any other way. We truly were supposed to be mother and daughter. I can't thank dear Zinash enough...she did something I could never have done. Her love for our little girl is so amazing. The depths of motherhood ran deep through her as well. They had to. For her to willingly place her daughter in the hands of strangers. Wow. She is a pillar of strength and part of my heart will always belong to her.

Being a mom is the best and hardest job I have ever had. I love my sweet girl more than I ever thought possible. I will fight for her when she can't and I will stand by her always. I don't think I fully understood this until we had to face the reality of her scoliosis. It has made our bond run deeper. It had too. She was scared. I was scared. I had to tap into a reserve of strength I didn't know I had. Why? Because my daughter needed me. I wouldn't have found this strength without her. She is my motivation. My driving force. She is my daughter and it became all to real that the world better not stand in her way or mine.

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