13...14...Kaki's Growing Up!

Sweet Kaki-girl! I've gone and done it again... missed another monthly post! And I know, I know... she's over the year mark... STOP already! But I can't! I was the same way with Caden... there is SO much to remember about her right now... she is changing EVERY DAY! She is coming into the little lady that God knitted her to be... we are getting to see her quirks and learn her buttons and enjoy her unmistakable joy for life! There is just something about Kaki! 

I mean look at that face... can you handle it?

She is a MESS! She LOVES life on the move! She loves her toys and exploring new things! We see this exciting "OH" face a lot and now she's starting to add an audible "OH" or "OW" with it! Of course she has her squawks too... like a bird... a big angry bird! When she doesn't like something or has been "wronged" she'll let you have it. And she's loud and proud about it. Our most troublesome squawking trigger is the car... oh bless her pea-pickin' heart on long road trips, which we have had LOTS of this summer... unless we are feeding her or entertaining her with her "busy bag" she is squawking... trips home do seem to be better than trips to... because she is usually able to sleep off a bit of her trip in between the squawking battles! :) Bless her heart... the girl likes to be on the go!

She doesn't like to sit still... EVER! 

She is always ready to go, go, go... 

Playing with toys... picking up trash... strolling her babies around the apartment... convincing Caden to play with her...following me from job to job... giving the dogs some lovin'... getting into the cabinets...she is an adventurer! 

She and Caden are doing more together but they still aren't quite at that age where they can truly, truly play together... it's coming though and I know it'll be here before we all know it. Caden is interested in playing with Kaki, but I'd still say that it is mostly initiated by Kaki. Caden really likes his space to play with his toys and act out his little scenes without little sister coming up and obstructing play by grabbing one of his men that he had no doubt spent many minutes getting set up just right. So he tends to hoist everything up on his bed and plays up there... ha! Poor Kaki... she just wants to play! And Caden misses his space... 

Kaki and Caden both love playing with Kaki's dollhouse. That is the toy they play together with a lot. They also play with the door... they love knocking and saying "who's there" and then inviting one another in! Kaki likes to ring the doorbell and then try to push her stroller and babies through the door. Her depth perception isn't the greatest! :) 

Kaki loves blocks! One of the few times I can get her to sit still for more than 5 minutes is when I dump the block bucket out on the floor. I do this a lot when I am putting away laundry. She will build and build and build. She especially likes it when Caden and I build with her... she loves to destroy our towers... and then laugh about it! Hehe!

Lately, Kaki has been ALL ABOUT THE HUGS! She is a lover! If she catches you on the floor or sitting still for that matter she is very likely to come up and lay her head on your lap and give you some lovin'. Oh I love it! She is so squishy and lovable and huggable and kissable... that Kaki! Her Daddy especially enjoys her hugs at the end of a long day at work. She SQUAWKS at him as soon as he walks in the door and does not stop until he picks her up and hugs her. She usually insists he hold her for the first 10 minutes he's home and enjoys going to help Daddy change out of his work clothes! When she gives us our BIGGEST hugs she flops one leg... it's like a little "hug reflex" she has... it's the cutest thing! I love it!

Kaki is still anti-bow, clip, headband... except for a rare moment after her haircut the other day... more on that down below. BUT her hair is changing so much. It is continuing to get thicker, lighter and CURLIER... and color me green with envy because her waves are gorgeous! Curly Kaki... what a lucky little girl! She is especially curly when she gets hot, sweaty or fresh our of the bath or pool! Sweet girl!

She is not a verbal girl... although I have noticed she is making a more concerted effort to talk lately. And it is so sweet to hear her mumbles and jumbles. Anything is better than the squawk... :) She is great at following commands like , "bring that to Mommy/Daddy/etc.," "go throw that in the trash" "it's time to eat" "let's take a bath" "let's go Kaki" "Put that in the toy box" Etc. It still amazes me how much little ones know and understand before they are able to communicate what they know and understand through their words. The mind is an amazing thing!

Kaki has started using her head to communicate. Nodding yes and shaking her head for no... it helps immensely! I love that little bit of clarity that we get from it. Do you want more milk? Are you done? Of course, the one sign that she knows is "all done." That was always Caden's favorite too. Although I haven't really worked with Kaki very much on them... I am am actually kind of surprised that she knows "all done" at all! :)

Moving on... the girl loves her some shoes...

But you knew that already! She is always so quick to pick them up if they are not in her closet. She brings them to me and places them near her feet... she loves to wear them and change them up! :) And somehow we have managed to lose two different shoes this week... in a small little place... how does that happen?! :) We'll find them... she has a sixth sense for them... I just need to send her out! :)

Kaki is still on the big side for her age although we haven't had an officially weigh in in a few months I know by how much her feet have grown! She is leaning out some now that she is walking which people who just meet her can't even imagine... her thighs are still like so marshmallow like! :) I love them!! She has tan lines in her creases and cellulite in just the right places! :) She is tall and is very proportional... not having the short legs like her brother and Daddy do. She has HUGE teeth which I am afraid she gets from me. She has 9 now and is working on about 5 more... and I wish I was kidding! Her teeth are monsters when they come in because they are so big and strong and they do the tango... up and down and up and down... I hate it for her, but overall she handles it really well! She's a tough little booger!

She loves to snack!! She is a snack girl and not the greatest meal eater unless it is mac n cheese. She could live on MUMS and goldfish and just recently discovered ChexMix... she thinks that is pretty good stuff. She drinks milk and water and would only drink milk if I let her. She goes through LOTS more milk than Caden ever did. She likes her fruits and veggies pureed and in fact, LOVES her squeezable pouches of baby food more than ever. She loves crackers and waffles and things that are crispy. She loves cheese quesadillas but hasn't been wanting any grilled cheeses lately. She loves pizza one day and not the next. If it's not a crispy carb or comes in a pouch it better be mac n cheese and that's that! Oh or a french fry... but I consider that a crispy carb... :) She had a few weeks when she was eating lots of meat... but not so much these days. I blame it on her teeth... sometimes they hurt, sometimes they don't... it's hard for a girl to know what she wants to eat on any given day! :)

She is social and fearless in most situations. She has adjusted well to her new Sunday school room and only has a few tears each time. She isn't nearly as shy as Caden was at this age. She barges right into the house when she visits both of her grandparents and starts playing. She is always excited to see new faces and isn't shy to raise her arms up or out at anyone for a little pick me up! :)

The other day I took her to get her second haircut and we went to a kids only place so she had to sit up in the chair by herself... I wasn't quite sure how she'd do since the first haircut she cried until we popped in the sucker but she did SO GREAT! She just sat up there all by herself... such a big girl. I sat back and watched her and realized how big she was getting... I almost cried right there in Snip-its! Bless my heart!

Such a goofy girl...

Her hairdresser asked if I wanted her to try to put a ribbon in her hair and I said sure! I wasn't really sure what she was going to do but Kaki ended up with a little pig-tail with a purple ribbon around it... hahahaha! She looked SO different and every time I looked at her the rest of the day I started laughing! It was cute and quirky all the same! 

And my big girl got herself a lolli-pop for a job well done!

Can you get over that little water fountain on top of her head... sweet little girl!! 

She liked it! A lot! :) And she kept the ribbon in for about 30 minutes and the rubber band in until I took it out that night before bed... which made for some hilarious hair!! 

I'm not sure it is my favorite look, but it did encourage me to keep trying to fix her hair and maybe one day she'll appreciate it! :) Silly girl!

Kaki loves doggies! She loves her doggies and her Aunt Molli dog... she loves to hug and pull and pet all over those doggies and isn't scared of them one bit. It's amazing to me how fearless she is with all of them. And of course they are all so good with her. Molli has gotten a bit old in the past few years and doesn't enjoy it as much as she just tolerates it but nothing makes Kaki happier than getting to hug on her sweet Molli dog! And her Maci and Max too! :)

Yesterday, Kaki and I had the better portion of the afternoon and evening to spend together while the rest of the fam was at the Baylor football game and we had SO MUCH fun... it made me very excited for Tuesdays and Thursdays this year when C is at school. It will be so different than last year now that she is a ONE NAP girl... the world is ours to explore Kaki girl! I can't wait for my girl dates each week! Such fun! 

And speaking of Baylor... Kaki is already a fan... she can sic 'em bears with the best of them and LOVES our game day music we listen to OVER and OVER and OVER again in the car! Go Bears!

Kaki loves the water, especially the bath BUT she never gets to play long because Daddy is an in and out of the bath kind of bather... and brother is the boss of the bath toys, so when she is solo she LOVES it... she had two cool whip containers and plastic cup last night in the bath and entertained herself for a good 20 minutes... she was all shades of pruney and I was WET! I was sitting in the splash zone! :)

While Kaki certainly is already giving me a run for my money on a lot of things, I couldn't love her spunky spirit anymore than I do... and like Caden, that strong will with a bit of sass can serve her well if channeled appropriately... I just gotta hang in there with her! And her squawking... :) 

That Kaki-Lou is one of kind! She melts our hearts and sweetens our days in immeasurable ways! I love the big girl she's becoming, her bits of baby fading away... we love you Kaki girl!! To the moon and back and back again!

Happy 13 AND 14 months!!