I walked into Kya's room because she had suddenly gotten quiet after I put her down for her nap, and this is what I found!
I can't believe it has taken me almost two weeks to blog about Kya's first birthday! We have been busy packing, and I am trying to finish up as much of my dissertation as possible before we move, which is one week from tomorrow! I'm so excited and sad at the same time. We were so thankful to celebrate Kya's birthday here, so we could get a lot of our friends together one last time before we leave. We were very fortunate that Eric's parents and sister and my mom were able to come. Plus, my Great-Uncle Hank, Great-Aunt Brenda and Cousin Kim came from Atlanta! We had the party in the junior high snack bar at the church, which was perfect because we had a full kitchen and plenty of room for everyone, AND it was free! We made cupcakes, which were sugar-free for my diabetic husband. In all honesty, we had a stash of like three cake mixes and frostings from my mom and Eric's mom, so I was trying to get rid of it! Then, we had brownie sundaes, which were not sugar-free. Eric, Hayley, and I went up to the church early to decorate a little bit and get everything set up, and the grandparents came with the birthday girl after she woke up from her nap. They actually had to wake her up, which was not such a great thing when she first got to the party. BUT, when she got used to all of the people fawning all over her, she loved it! We made Kya her own cake, which she shared with Eric and me in the form of icing off of her hands. It was the first time Kya had ever had cake or anything chocolate. She loved it, and she better get used to sugar-free because we will most likely only have that in our house - except for my ice cream. One funny part was when we were singing Happy Birthday to her, she got this look on her face like she was going to cry because she didn't understand why everyone was staring at her and taking pictures and singing. I kept saying - it's okay, Kya over and over, and when everyone was done, she let out a shriek meaning that she was excited. It was so cute! She does love being the center of attention! Then, she opened presents, which I told everyone not to bring anything, but of course, that was ignored. Kya racked up on toys and clothes and gift cards! She loved opening the presents. We are so thankful for our many friends and family who came to celebrate with us, especially my and Eric's family who traveled many hours to be with Kya on her special day. Unfortunately, my dad could not make it because he was getting ready for the final shuttle launch, but he won't miss anymore! We missed Pop Noah, but next year, we'll have all of the grandparents and aunt and uncle!
My mom stayed with us the week after Kya's birthday because the daycare at the church was closed, and it was a big help. Mom cleaned out Kya's closet and our kitchen. I can always count on her to get me organized! We gave a bunch of stuff away this past week, which made me feel ridiculous that we have so much stuff. A lot of it was Kya's stuff. I just didn't see the point in hanging onto everything when we're not sure when or if we will have another baby. What is crazy is that we still have one huge tub of clothes. We try to clean out our closets at least twice a year, and it's amazing to me how much stuff we give away each time. I love giving stuff away and cleaning stuff out! It feels good to get rid of the clutter! I guess I get that from my mom. Of course Mom also made sure we always had clean clothes. I know Kya enjoyed her time with Nana No-No, which is what we started to call her by the end of the week. I told Mom that Kya would probably shorten that to No-No, so we probably shouldn't call her that unless she wants to be known as No-No.
Kya also went in for her 1 year check-up, and she is 22 lbs (75th percentile) and 30 inches (75th percentile). However, her head measurement is off the charts. This girl has a big head! The doctor recommended that after we move to Houston, we go get it checked out, but he doesn't see any reason to worry about it. I freaked out for a day, but she is progressing normally and hitting all of the milestones, so I should not be worried. She just has a big head - thanks to her Daddy! Other than that, she is doing great!
So, here is the Kya update: she can stand for long periods of time and has started taking a few steps at a time. She'll stand herself up and take a few steps towards me as long as I am close to her. She is so close to walking around, but not yet. She loves playing with my old phone and making Eric and me "talk" to someone. She pretty much just opens the phone and shoves it at our face or ear when she wants us to act like we are talking. She loves flipping through her books, too. She also loves to play hide and seek. Eric or I will go to another room and call out to her from behind a door (she loves pushing open doors), and she will come find us. We can play this for a long time. She loves shrieking, too! This week I got her to start making the "zzz" sound. I would tell her to buzz like a bee, and she spits making the "b" noise and then goes "zzzz". It's awesome! Lastly, she loves getting attention from strangers. We were in line at Wal-Mart this week, and this lady looked at her and smiled, and then, she kept loading her groceries on the conveyor, well, Kya decided that she was not done looking at her, and she shrieked at her. It was hilarious. I am so curious to see how Kya's personality develops. She gets a little shy if people pay attention to her first, but she loves looking at people and shrieking until they look at her, and if they look away before she wants them to, she will get their attention again. One thing is for sure - she is very strong-willed and likes to get her way!
