.hurricane kaiya.

I've probably mentioned before how Kaiya likes to crawl over to her little basket of toys and dump them all out.  She loves to do this, so mommy and daddy are continuously restocking her basket so she can dump it out over and over and over again.  Oh the little things that make her happy!  And she'll play with ALL of the toys, too.  When you look at the picture, you'll see how many toys are in the little basket.

We also have a little diaper caddy, and another one of her joys is pulling out the diapers one by one and making a little trail of diapers.  Only to have mommy or daddy put the diapers back so she can do it again in a few hours or so.

I decided to bust out the camera so you could all see the destruction that is Hurricane Kaiya.

.happy malasada day.

while a bunch of people are out celebrating fat tuesday and preparing for lent, we decided to honor the portuguese and celebrate malasada day!  the reasoning behind malasada day, according the garden island (kauai's newspaper), is the portuguese, who were predominantly catholic, wanted to use up all of their butter and sugar in preparation for lent.  so they prepared malasada's to share with the rest of the community.  how nice of them!

kaiya is a wee bit too young to indulge in the malasada's mommy and daddy got for the family...but she eyed them up and down and stared intently at us while we certainly enjoyed them.  next year kaiya, next year.

here's kaiya looking to see if we left her a malasada in her snack tray...

no luck.

.kaiya's valentine's weekend.

since daddy had to work all weekend, he decided to treat mommy to a valentine's lunch on his day off, which was on friday.  we didn't go anywhere fancy, but it was good nonetheless.  kaiya ate lunch prior to mommy and daddy's lunch, so while they were eating, little miss kaiya was happy happy happy. check her out in her bumbleride...wearing her "love" cirque du soleil onesie that grandma barbara and papa harry got for her in las vegas when they went to watch the "love" over the summer.

kaiya also got a couple early valentine's gifts.  two puppies (one from grandma barbara and papa harry, and the other all the way from new mexico from grandma barb) ...

and two books from mommy and daddy ("i love you through and through..." and "love you forever")...

kaiya kept the love theme going on saturday and sported a cute 'love me' onesie.

she also decided to play a little hide and seek from mommy.

on sunday, she didn't feel too good...probably because mommy decided to eat chili w/beans a few days earlier.  note to mommy: kaiya HATES beans!!  but...she still sported a cute happy valentine's day shirt with some jeans that mommy picked up at ooh, baby recycled in hanamaulu.

that was pretty much the extent of kaiya's first valentine's day weekend.  not very eventful...but really, there is no need for a designated day to express love.  that should probably be done on a daily, or at least regular, basis!  to many more days of expressing love....

.sophie la girafe.

I finally ordered miss kaiya a Sophie the Giraffe toy. It's this plastic rubber toy that squeaks...and is supposed to be a wonder toy for teething babes.

Sophie la girafe's story...(via the box she came in)

The little giraffe was born on 25th May in the year 1960...Saint Sophie's day!
In those days, the only animal toys available were farm animal or pet figures...
That is why one day in France, a certain Monsieur RAMPEAU, who had assimilated the rotational moulding of rubber as a toy-making concept, came up with the idea of designing a giraffe. Such an exotic wildlife figure would be a first on the market, and its size and shape would be ideal for a baby's small hands to grasp.

Sophie the Giraffe, who looked exactly the same then as she does today, went into production on Thrusday 25th May, hence her name.

She was an immediate success. Young mothers straightaway saw that she was a must for their children...When the first signs of teething appear, Sophie the Giraffe helps baby stop crying!
By simple word of mouth, the little giraffe's fame spread.

From then on in Europe, generation upon generation of children were to love hearing Sophie squeak whenever they pressed her tummy or head!

VULLI, a company based in Rumilly in the Haute-Savoie region of France has continued to keep the jealously-guarded secret of how this wonder toy is made.

SOPHIE is still "traditionally" produced to this day, a process that involves more than 14 manual operations. She is made from 100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea tree.
Here's Sophie...

Sophie also serves as baby's first sensory development toy that stimulates each of baby's senses...
Sight: The dark & contrasting spots all over Sophie the Giraffe's body provide visual stimulation and make her easily recognizable to baby. She soon becomes a familiar and reassuring object.
Taste: Sophie the Giraffe is very flexible and has lots of parts for baby to chew (ears, horns, legs). She is perfect for soothing baby's sore gums when teething and is completely safe. Made of 100% natural rubber and food paint.
Touch: Sophie the Giraffe is perfect for baby's small hands. She is very light and her long legs and neck are easy for baby to grip. She is very soft to the touch, just like baby's mummy, stimulating soothing physiological and emotional responses.
Smell: The singular scent of natural rubber (from the Hevea tree) makes Sophie the Giraffe very special and easy for your child to identify amid all his other toys.

Kaiya pretty much loves her Sophie. She pretty much loves anything that she can put in her mouth, but she REALLY likes how Sophie talks (squeaks) to her! Check out little chickee showing off her new friend....

say hello to my little friend...

yummy sophie...