.what happens when kaiya doesn't nap.

Most days Kaiya naps really well...one 2-hour nap and one 1-hour nap.  Sometimes she even throws in a 45-min nap...and cat naps in the car.  However, there are those days where she refuses to take one of the naps.  She'll usually sleep early on those days...or sometimes she'll stay up later because she's so tired.  Well, today was one of those days where she didn't take her long 2-hour nap.  I could tell she was tired, because she would try and sleep when I rocked her...but for some reason she fought it, and she wanted to play with Caleb.  Since I knew I probably wanted to put her down for the night a little earlier, I decided to try and give her dinner at 5, instead of the usual 5:45-6, so that I could start her bedtime routine a little earlier as well.  Weeeelllll...Little Miss Kaiya decided she was too tired to even finish dinner, resulting in....

She kept trying to doze off mid-bite...and I knew she was going to fall asleep in her chair.  So I tried to get in as many bites as possible.  Isn't she too cute!!  And on another note, I cut up an avocado to use on my sandwich so I decided to cut up some little pieces for Kaiya to try and feed herself.  She's had avocado pureed before so I figured why not?  She didn't love it...but she did eat a few pieces.  

And earlier in the day, I was trying to play around with the different options on the Hipstamatic app again and I caught one of her trying to stand...again.  She LOVES to try and stand up...she's only doing it for a couple seconds at a time, but she's trying more and more.  Sometimes she falls on her butt and laughs, sometimes she falls all the way down into a laying position...and laughs.  But look at her chubby little legs!

.poor miss kaiya bear.

Warning:  this post may be a little TMI for some....as it contains information about little miss Kaiya's poops.  (will she hate me or what?!?)

It's not uncommon for babies to get a little constipated once they start solid foods.  And at first, miss Kaiya was still going regularly, like usual.  But a few days into the solids, she started having "adult-like" poops, meaning they were formed nuggets.  Or coins, as daddy likes to call them.  haha.  Well that progressed to nothing coming out at all.  And once nothing started coming out, Kaiya started making these grunting sounds, and her face would turn all red, and you know she was trying to push out a poop but it just wasn't coming.  :(  We kind of laughed at first, but it was so sad to see her struggling with no success.  And it didn't bother her so much, she wasn't fussy or anything...it was more bothersome for mommy and daddy.  We tried giving her water, diluted apple juice, diluted prune juice.  Nothing seemed to work.  So yesterday, Aunty Dawn helped us try to help Kaiya with the good ole thermometer up the butt trick.  Didn't work.

So...it was off to Dr. Carolan's we went this morning.  We knew if anyone could get something out of Kaiya, it was him.  And sure enough, he did the thermometer up the butt trick and got quite a bit out of her.  She was sad, but as soon as it was over she was back to her happy self.  She's also got a little stuffy nose, so we asked him to check her out since we leave for New Mexico on Wednesday.  Lungs and ears got the all clear.  As if that wasn't enough torture that we put her through, mommy remembered to ask about the H1N1 shot, since she's 6 months old and able to get it.  Both Dr. Carolan and Aunty Flo (nurse) recommended getting it because they said it's coming back around again.  So, Aunty Flo gave her the shot, and she cried for a split second after she realized what happened, but stopped as soon as daddy picked her up.  She even gave Aunty Flo a big smile on our way out...making Aunty Flo feel a lot better since she's always the "bad guy" who gives the shots.

Dr. Carolan told us to try giving Kaiya some more water, with a little added Karo Syrup so she'll actually drink it.  He also recommended we get some infant glycerin suppositories...however, our chances of finding them on Kauai are slim to none.  So we're gonna wait until we get to New Mexico and hopefully we can find them there.

So poor little Kaiya bear had a big day today.  But hopefully she'll be able to poop like her old self in a day or two.  She's still happy, talkative little miss Kaiya...just a little on the sleepy side from the H1N1 vaccine.  However, she's ready for her first big trip to the mainland on Wednesday night.  She'll finally get to meet Grandpa Dave!  She'll also get to meet her Great-Grandpa John, along with a bunch of other Aunty's and Uncle's.  Mommy should probably start packing soon!  Let's all pray that Kaiya sleeps on the plane, or at least isn't the fussy, crying baby on a 5 hour red-eye flight!  (Papa Harry got us earplugs to distribute to passengers around us, just in case, though!  Always prepared!)

.little miss kaiya's first tax season.

first things first....check me out in my jeans.  they're a little tight when i sit down, so we have to unbutton them, and they're a little too long cause i'm a shorty like mommy, but nonetheless....

okay, moving on.  mommy and daddy had an appointment at h&r block so that they could get their taxes filed.  they had a big year in 2009 with moving across the pacific, daddy starting a new job, and the most important...having little miss kaiya.  so, they wanted to make sure that they got their maximum return.  kaiya went along for the trip, of course, and was such a good little girl.  mommy fed kaiya right before the appointment so she was happy.  she uttered a couple baaahhh blaaaaa's, but that was it...and fell asleep by the end of the appointment, which only lasted 45 minutes.  

after they were done at h&r block, mommy and daddy took kaiya to border's to check out some books.  we got two great books to give kaiya on her first valentine's day.  kaiya also loved the stuffed animal section that border's now has.  here's her and daddy playing with the "where the wild things are" monster...

although kaiya is a good sleeper at night, her naps on the other hand have been an issue.  since kaiya was a few weeks old, someone has had to hold her while she took her nap, otherwise she would wake up as soon as we put her down.  and not wanting her to be an overtired little babe, we gladly accepted the task...plus, whoever was holding her (mostly mommy since she stays home with kaiya) got to take a nap too.  well, being that she's almost 5 months old (what?!?) and can sleep on her belly since she's a rollover junkie, we decided to try and put her down starting just a couple of days ago.  hallelujah...it worked!  on her belly, of course.  here she is during her first nap of the day...snuggling her blankie dog, like usual.

  

daddy has the day off tomorrow, so him and mommy are going out for an early valentine's day lunch because he has to work on sunday.  valentine's day is also kaiya's 5 month birthday...pictures to follow as standard.

.look what i can do.

a couple weeks ago, i posted on kaiya practicing sitting up.  well, as days pass her muscles that enable her to sit by herself keep getting stronger and stronger resulting in the following....

since kaiya has been able to roll over, she's been loving the fact that she can sleep on her tummy.  she also likes to sleep in the following position...

gotta love little miss kaiya!

.bedtime snuggles.

we've been pretty blessed in regards to kaiya falling asleep and sleeping through the night.  i started a bedtime routine early on that consisted of an early bath, nursing, rocking, then sleep.  the first couple weeks i had to rock her until she was 100% sleeping, otherwise she would wake right up when i put her down to sleep.  after a while, i ended up rocking her for a couple minutes, put her down and walked away.  to my surprise...she fell asleep all by herself!  sometimes she'll fuss, sometimes she'll play, but when that happens you can pat her for a couple minutes, walk away and then she'll get into "the zone".  "the zone" is when i know she's about to fall asleep.  she'll stare off into space and nothing will break her stare.  you can walk past her and she won't even flinch.  a few minutes after that...she'll be fast asleep until the next morning.

up until a few days ago that is.  she seems to be fighting the early bedtime more and more...but i'm determined that early bedtime=happy baby in the a.m.  she's all about talking and playing instead of going to sleep.  so i decided to try giving her something to snuggle.  little miss kaiya seems to LOVE snuggling her dog blankie, and it's one of the only thing that comforts her when she's trying to fall asleep for the night...because i don't want her to get used to me rocking her to sleep again. so i'll give her the dog blankie and sit next to her and pat her a couple times, then walk away.  she likes to hold it and rub it cause it's so soft, and she also sucks on it (since she doesn't take the paci)...but she eventually get into "the zone", and falls asleep with all snuggled up against the dog.  sooo cute.

the dog blankie was the very first thing that i bought for kaiya was on a trip to oahu to visit aunty erin who was on vacation from oregon.  we went to a small shop in haleiwa, and i bought her a gray & white dog blankie.  well, when we first brought kaiya home, i was determined to make that thing one of her fave blankies/toys so it went with us whenever she was in her carseat.  fast forward four months....

here's kaiya snuggling her dog...