July 2005

This has been by far the hardest month on my back. Kyla loves walking, and demanded that someone assist her by holding her hands while she wondered. Bending over to assist someone who is two feet tall to walk is very punishing to the back of someone who is 6' 3".

Gradually Kyla became comfortable only holding one had for balance, and finally, she decided that she was ready to walk all on her own. This development has truly made life easier since Kyla enjoys her additional autonomy, which allows us to get a little more done while she is awake.

Her vocabulary continues to expand and she now strings two words together (e.g. "Hi Daddy"). Kyla is extremely outgoing and says "Hi" to just about anyone. In crowded rooms she has a knack of attaching herself to whomever is the center of attention... or she just tries to draw everyone's attention to her by squealing.

Kyla found out just how far her extended family extends when we attended the Huck (my Grandma Marian's family) reunion. It'll be a long time before she can count the number of first cousins three times removed were there. On the 4th we went to the zoo at Point Defiance with Linda. Afterwards we watched my Uncle Tom's small fireworks show at the Chambers' Lake House, which scared Kyla a bit at first, but she soon decided she enjoyed the loud noise and bright colors. We also took a trip to Chelan with my mother's family where we got some sun and swam in the lake.

So far it's been a fun summer, but when do we get to relax?