Like a toddler who got what they wanted mid-kick, mid-scream, 2017 finally got me to surrender the notion that maybe my baby could stay a baby for at least another year. Here we are, bidding farewell to infancy and staring down the barrel of TODDLERHOOD. I tried to fight it, but I was no match for time. Toddlerhood means facing challenges I’m really sure how I’m going to handle like getting her to eat with utensils, potty training, and the urge to run full speed into traffic, so I’m pretty content to stay in the now with my little baby.
Her cake smash is later this month, and while I’m extremely excited to see her flail around and get cake literally everywhere and in every single nook and cranny of her body and clothes, I’m also a little upset that she’s coming up on such a big milestone. Obviously, I’m going to be a wreck on September 1st. I’m already contemplating keeping her up a little bit later (we’re going on vacation on the 3rd, so we’ll be working on pushing her bedtime to 9:30 pacific time anyway) or having her sleep on me so that I’m holding her at 10:02 pm. I’m so lucky to have the privilege of watching her grow into the person she is meant to be, but it still stings. A birthday is both a loss and a gain, a gray area of pride and heartbreak. I’m really going to miss infancy, and I’m going to miss the person she is right now. But even then — I know the best is yet to come. That’s always the case, isn’t it? There is so much good ahead of us.
Kaia at a glance:
- Has 8 teeth
- Grinds her teeth a lot these days
- Loves to take objects out of containers
- Laughs when we read Goodnight Moon
- Likes to sit on top of empty boxes
- Climbs over everything
- Crawls under her crib just to sit and play
- Leans her head over to one side to look at us and laugh
- Is becoming more proficient in imitating sounds and her babbles of “bubble” and “blueberry” sound surprisingly accurate
- Loves rice, blueberries, bananas, and Bamba (always bamba)
- Waves
- Leans forward and reaches for things she wants while making some kind of exclamation
- Says “ca” when the cat is around and “da” when the dog is around
- Enjoys holding things for us at the grocery store
- Is becoming very gentle with her petting technique and extends her whole hand (she still does try to grab ears, but ya know, she’s a baby)
- Finally started to babble “mamama”
- Loves when we sing the itsy bitsy spider and the wheels on the bus
- Tolerates being worn in a ring sling but still prefers her buckle
- Wears a whole range of sizes from 3-6 month (shirts and onesies) to 12 months (shirts, onesies, pants).
- Stands up to listen to stories
- Isn’t a huge fan of the stroller these days
- Has difficulty lying still for a diaper change 99% of the time (it’s funny AND MESSY)
- Her favorite toys consist of plastic bowls, tupperware, a stainless steel bowl, and wooden spoons
- Loves to open and close drawers
- Screams at the top of her lungs when she is especially frustrated or especially entertained
- Jumps when she is excited
It was real, infancy. Time for the next chapter!
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