December 2006

Blake is turning out to be a very active fetus. Becky's doctor wasn't able to get an accurate heartbeat because he wouldn't stop moving around. At the beginning of the month, I was barely able to feel him but by the end of the month his kicks and punches started becoming very pronounced. Kyla once told Becky that "after Fetie comes out he needs to say sorry for kicking you."

Another of Kyla's memorable quotes: after cousin Brianna got in trouble for spilling pop on the floor, Kyla said, "don't worry Brianna, I spill everything."

Like Blake, the rest of us have also been very active, mostly because of the holidays. The Neels came with us to chop down our tree, and Kyla got a kick out of decorating it. This was the first year where she got excited for Santa Claus to bring her goodies, so she had a list of requests for him when she sat on his lap and was sure to leave him some milk and cookies in case she was borderline on the naughty/nice judgment.

When the big day(s) actually arrived, we again ran the gauntlet doing Christmas Eve at the Chambers', Christmas brunch at our house with the Saulsberrys, Christmas evening with the Pritchards, then to Ellensburg for Christmas with the Houstons, and finally Christmas/New Year's Day with the Hovenkotters. She was very thoughtful saying "Thank you that's so cute," when given a gift, sometimes even before she opened it. She made out very well and we are now working to find room for her latest plunder. Some notable gifts include a new baby doll (a boy of course), sled, digital camera, doll house, and lip balm (don't ask me why, but she loves that stuff).

The holiday season also includes Becky's birthday. Kyla and I kept ourselves busy most of the day so she could relax after all of her hard work getting ready for Christmas. She may be only a year away from turning 30, but those youthful good looks ensure that she still gets carded whenever she buys alcohol.

Now it is time to look forward to 2007, which will be a big year for our growing family. Right now we're thought of as a "little family," but by this time next year we'll be more of what people think of as the stereotypical American family; two parents, two children (a boy and a girl), a pet, and a house in the suburbs. Pass me the apple pie.

Holiday Message 2006

As 2006 draws to an end it is once again time to reflect where the last 12 months have gone.

Of course the big news is that Kyla is going to be a big sister! Her little brother is due April 26, 2007. Becky and Brett have not yet been able to settle on a boy name though Brett has been diligently compiling all possibilities into a spreadsheet. In the interim we're referring to him as "Fetie." At our last appointment the doctor was unable to get an accurate heart rate because Fetie wouldn't stop moving around, which is making us nervous that Kyla will prove to be the easier of the two. Regardless, we're all very excited for the new arrival, but we've got a lot painting to do and boy clothes to buy in the meantime.

Kyla is now a two-year-old with a lot of energy and a mind of her own. She works very hard at putting bedtime off as long as possible and has mastered a number of stall tactics. She enjoys going to two toddler groups, exercise classes, playgroup, and the library with Becky; swim class with Brett; and gymnastics class with Grandma Linda. She can sing her ABC's as well as identify several letters, count in both English and Spanish (thank you Dora the Explorer), and ride a tricycle.

Becky had heard that every pregnancy is different, so she had high hopes that this one would not involve the acute morning sickness that Kyla's did. She did not get her wish. Fortunately she's in the easy phase now after the nausea of the first trimester but before the discomfort and sharp kicks of the third trimester.

Brett turned 30 this year ending his plausible deniability about the gray hairs that have been showing up on his head. By day he has mostly done contract work this year, which he used as an excuse to convince Becky that he needed a new laptop, but recently took a full-time consulting job with Two Degrees. By night he continues to blog, organize pictures, and create home movies on his Mac.

We've started to settle into the house now that we've done a little painting and bought a lot of furnishings, though we've barely made a dent in Becky's to-do list. We've met a few neighbors with children Kyla's age that we've become fast friends with, and two of these families are also expecting babies close to Fetie's due date. You may not want to drink the water the next time you come to visit us.

This year was Becky and Brett's fifth wedding anniversary. After five years of marriage (and seven years of being together) they've been through planning a wedding, several job shifts, a layoff, two real estate transactions, two pregnancies, and one birth. How this phase in one's life came to be known as "settling down" is beyond us.

We hope this message finds you enjoying your holiday season. Have a wonderful new year!

Brett, Becky, Kyla, & Fetie

Hi, My Name Is...

Blake Justin Hovenkotter

The name Fetie is no more, and Kyla is now the lone K surrounded by B's.

Blake has been one of our favorite names for a while, and most of our parents warmed to it immediately when we floated our short list to them. It was originally Becky's suggestion, and I have to admit that when I first heard it I thought it seemed too English and stuffy, but the more I heard it, the more I really liked it.

We never seriously considered making him Brett Junior. We do share a middle name, but this isn't meant to honor me, it is more of a testament to how much we like my mother's taste in middle names. However, our first names are similar in that they are both monosyllabic and begin with B, and consequently we will share initials.

Once we seemed to be settling on a name, and I bought Becky the letters B-L-A-K-E from Pottery Barn for Christmas that match those in Kyla's room. Kyla will be moving back to her original room after we paint it and Blake will move into the middle bedroom because it is already a boyish shade of blue. Setting up these rooms is going to be our big project after the holidays.

At least we now have one less thing to worry about.

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"
Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2

Powerless

On Thursday, December 14th, the local news was predicting a severe wind storm that night, and Mother Nature did not disappoint. By that evening we were already hearing stories of family and friends losing power, and at some point in the middle of the night, the wind claimed ours as well.

The next morning, without really understanding the magnitude of the destruction that had occurred, I went to work. I am currently working on a project for Infospace, which occupies buildings in downtown Bellevue on 108th Ave, and power was on there, probably due to the proximity to Overlake Hospital. At the same time Becky and Kyla joined the neighbors in search of breakfast.

After reading some online news, I discovered that around 1.5 million people in the Puget Sound area lost power that night. Most of Seattle came back up quickly, but the Eastside took far longer. After about two hours Becky and company abandoned their quest and ate at the Neels' (thank goodness for gas ranges).

That night after struggling to get a couple of cell phone calls through (we use VoIP for our home phone) I discovered that Southcenter still had power, so our family and some of our neighbors all went to the mall and ate at The Rainforest Cafe. When we returned home, Becky, Kyla, and I all bundled up and went to bed cuddled together.

The next morning it was really cold in the house, so we quickly packed up and after having breakfast with Doug at a small Bellevue restaurant situated in one of the few powered regions, we headed East. My mother was thrilled to have us over and to fill us up with home-cooking, so we enjoyed a couple of days there.

On Sunday night around 10:00, our power finally returned. On Monday morning I stopped by the house on my way to work to find that it was in pretty good shape; fortunately Kerry already advised us to empty the ice maker in the freezer. I'm not sure how to judge how safe the food is in the fridge as it was pretty cold over the weekend (lows in the 30s), but I think we'll err on the side of caution and throw most of it out.

We were actually pretty lucky compared to those who live further out. The Lasserre's house is in Duvall and don't expect their power back on until this Friday. Some of the pictures of their neighborhood are a bit alarming.

As we begin to put this experience behind us I am reminded of just how heavily our family and the rest of this country relies on electricity, and just how easily Mother Nature can sever that reliance and show us just how vital heat and unspoiled food really are.

It's a...

BOY! Just call me Even Steven.

I definitely would not have been disappointed if Fetie turned out to be another girl, I really enjoy raising little girls, but over the past couple of days I had started to lean towards wanting a boy. If he was a girl, I would always wonder what raising a son would have been like (Number 3 is not off the table, but our plan has always been to stop at two). On the other hand we've got a lot of girl clothes we won't be able to reuse, but we'll be OK.

Becky did not have much of a preference since she already has her girl. Kyla kept flip-flopping on the subject.

We had a girl name picked out, but we hadn't settled on a boy name yet. I guess we're better with girl names, because we had Kyla's name picked out even before we conceived her. Naming our son (I love the sound of "our son") will become an endeavor Becky and I will be focusing on (i.e., obsessing about), so I don't think that announcement will be too far off. If we can't come up with one we agree on in the next four and a half months, I suppose we can just fall back on "Fetie."

November 2006

November proved to be a very rainy, cold, and even snowy month. I was amazed at how the snow almost paralyzes Seattle, but then it is a far rarer thing here than in Eastern Washington. Becky quickly bought Kyla some snow gear so that they wouldn't waste this rare opportunity.

Kyla has mastered a number of stall tactics at bedtime. She'll take a really long time to pick out a book for me to read, or make requests for snacks or water. When Mommy has been at it for a while, she'll ask for Daddy and vice versa. Sometimes it feels like us versus her, and even though we always win in the end, the battles can be long and exhausting.

She's learned to be very diplomatic with her parents. Whenever Becky or I claim that she is "my Kyla," she will correct us and say "I'm Mommy and Daddy's Kyla." It seems that my stock has gone up recently, because Mommy used to be the clear favorite.

As with every year, Thanksgiving was really busy for us. On Thanksgiving Day Becky and Kyla went to the Salish Lodge for breakfast with Linda's family (I didn't manage to get out of bed in time), then the rest of the day was split between Grandma Dot's dinner and my Aunt Mary's dinner. On Friday we went to my mother's for a feast with some of the Chambers family. Finally on Sunday we hosted a turkey dinner with the Saulsberrys at our house.

During the course of the long holiday weekend Kyla managed to add some offensive language to her vocabulary, though she is mispronouncing the words. According to what we've read we shouldn't make a big deal out of it; instead we're trying to introduce less profane alternatives.

On the Fetie front, Becky can now feel the baby moving. This is the one aspect of pregnancy that does make me a little jealous, at least up until those movements turn into repetitive kicks to the ribs.

October 2006

Kyla continues to show her independence and desire to act like an adult. Some nights when we lie down together for our bedtime story, she insists on reading a book to me. At breakfast she now wants her own full size bowl and spoon, and insists that I give her fat-free milk instead of whole milk because that is what goes in mine.

Becky and Kyla went to Leavenworth with Linda for a little vacation. While they were there they visited a pumpkin patch (which doubled as a petting zoo), walked down by a river and ate some bratwurst.

For Halloween this year Kyla was a '50s teeny bopper, complete with pink satin scarf and poodle skirt. We went trick or treating along our block with our neighbors, the Neels. Kyla and Asher loved screaming "trick or treat" when their next victim would open the door and grabbing as much candy as they could.

It was another month of long hours at work for me, but the new Website has gone live and finally things are getting back to normal. I wonder how long it will last.

Another Bun in the Oven

Yes, the rumors are true, we are going to be a family of four.

We originally agreed to space out Kyla and her sibling by three years, but I've been growing impatient over the course of this year. Becky took a little longer to build up her enthusiasm since Kyla is still a handful and her first pregnancy started with some intense nausea, but she is just as excited as I am now.

The news came as somewhat of a surprise to us. We had stopped preventing it, but didn't expect it to happen so quickly. On August 19th, Becky was going to a Bachelorette party where there was going to be a lot of drinking, so she took a pregnancy test as a precaution. She came out of the bathroom holding the test with a dumbfounded expression on her face. As soon as I discerned the cause of her shock, I gave her a big hug and then proceeded to dance around.

We had tried to keep it a secret initially, but her friends at the party quickly deduced that all of her drinks were mixer-only. We broke the news to most of our friends and family by having Kyla tell them that "there's a baby in Mommy's tummy."

The due date has been a moving target, going from April 26th to May 2nd and back to the 26th again. My birthday is May 1st, so it is possible that this baby may be my birthday present. As fun as that sounds, it is probably better for me if it's born on a different day, otherwise I'm sure its birthday will always eclipse mine.

I've been asked several times if I'm hoping for a boy this time, and I'm not sure how to answer. On one hand, it would be nice to have the experience of raising a boy; on the other raising a girl is so wonderful that I don't mind doing it twice, though that feeling may change during the teenage years. Regardless of the sex, we have an interim name for the baby: Fetie.

I was so eager during Becky's pregnancy with Kyla that the wait felt like torture, especially the last week of it which was past the due date. This time I hope it goes by faster since being a parent to Kyla consumes so much time and I can enjoy her instead of dwelling on the excitement to come. Perhaps this new addition will be the first member of our family to have a laid-back personality.

September 2006

We kicked off this month by traveling to Eugene, Oregon to attend Jaimee and Bryan's wedding. Kyla and Rylee were the Flower Girls and walked down the aisle with Becky. Originally they were going to walk by themselves, but after the rehearsal where they sprinted down the aisle, we decided they could use an escort.

On the way home we stopped at Enchanted Village for Kyla's first theme park experience. She seemed a little nervous about going on the kiddie rides, but she got a big kick out of the Wild Waves attractions, particularly the wave pool.

We read to Kyla every night before she goes to bed. Her favorite stories include her collection of Curious George and various Dr. Seuss books. She has become so familiar with some of them that she occasionally reads them out loud to herself.

I'm impressed by how quickly she picks certain concepts up. One morning I was making a grocery list and Kyla asked me what I was drawing. I tried to explain that I was writing down all of the groceries that we needed. She contemplated this for a moment and then asked, "You put Strawberries on the list, Daddy?"

This has been a difficult month for us because my current project is on a Death March, an industry term for the long hours some projects experience when approaching a major deadline. During the week I get home late so Kyla is usually already asleep, and I've also been working Saturdays. This situation has been especially hard on Becky, who is experiencing nausea and fatigue while being the only parent most of the time. Fortunately Kyla gets up early enough that we spend the morning together and we hang out together every Sunday.

I'm looking forward to a far more laid back October.

Five Wonderful Years

Becky and I have been married for five years now. There are days when I can't believe it has been that long because the past five years have flown by, but then there are days when it feels like it's been longer than that because I'm so used to being married.

On our anniversary I was able to finally unveil a movie of our wedding that was a clandestine project I had been working on for six weeks. It was a pain to incorporate the video, which we only have in VHS format, and a bigger pain to keep this secret for so long. For my gift Becky ordered a sign saying "The Hovenkotters" to hang in the front of our house, which I've been saying that I wanted ever since we bought our new place.

People often say "congratulations" to you on your anniversary, which has always seemed odd to me. What kind of accomplishment is it to make it to an anniversary, aside from managing not to get divorced? Isn't that the equivalent of congratulating someone on their birthday because they aren't dead yet? I suppose the congratulations is for having made such an excellent choice in marrying someone who obviously was a good long term fit, which Becky and I definitely are.

August 2006

It's official, Kyla is now two.

She's managed to get a head start on the whole terrible twos thing. On one occasion, Kyla was throwing a big fit and after Becky sent her to her room Kyla slammed her door, opened it, screamed at Becky, and then slammed it again. We've also had to go rounds to get her to brush her teeth now that Becky and I have committed to getting her to brush twice-a-day.

Kyla has been speaking in clear, full sentances for a while now, and it can be tempting to use this ability for mischievous purposes. Cassie really enjoyed teaching Kyla the lyrics to Baby Got Back ("I like big butts and I cannot lie"), though Becky wasn't laughing. However Becky has taught Kyla to say "Grandma drives like a maniac" and does find this to be quite amusing.

Becky and Kyla went to the coast for a weekend with Linda's family. Kyla got a kick out of running into and out of the waves as they rolled in. They also made sand angels and flew a kite on the beach. I stayed home that weekend and really enjoyed my alone time, but by the end I was excited for them to come home.

We went to Lake Chelan for a long weekend with my mother and sister Lexie. Kyla enjoyed riding on float toys and jumping off of a platform into the lake. All in all the trip was very relaxing and we ate really well since Grandma Jan was there. On the way back we went blueberry picking at Mount Si. I had Kyla on my shoulders and I didn't end up with too many berries as she ate them almost as fast as I could pick them.

Every night I try to read a story to Kyla before bed. Her favorite book is The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. Whenever I come to the page where the cat drops the grumpy fish out of his bowl and the fish lands in a teapot, Kyla becomes very concerned and asks "Where did the fish's bowl go Daddy?"

Two years into this parenting thing and so far so good. Becky and I both knew raising a kid would be a lot of work, but I think we were still surprised by just how our lives were taken over by it. An outsider might see parenthood as a condition where you only give, but it's the little things that happen everyday like getting a hug, hearing her say a cute phrase, or even just a smile that reminds me that I'm getting so much more out of this than I'm putting into it.

Kyla's 2nd Birthday Party

We had Kyla's birthday party at our new house this year (we've been here 10 months, can I still call it new?). There were more than 50 guests, over a dozen of whom were kids, which made for a big crowd.

The most interesting guest was Elmo. The children were pretty evenly split between those who thought Elmo was cool and those who feared the big red monster. Kyla was in the latter group. Luckily, our neighbors the Neels brought over a big bouncy house that all of the kids enjoyed.

Last year I created a movie showing pictures and video from Kyla's first year, this year I did the same covering her second year and gave a screening at the party. Again it took more hours than I care to count to create it, but I am really happy with how it turned out.

Kyla received more presents than is practical to list here, but it consisted of a lot of toys, books, and clothes many of which are themed after Dora and Elmo. So far her favorites are her new Power Wheels scooter and Big Sister Dora doll (how appropriate).

Putting this party together was no small task for Becky and I (with a lot of help from our parents), but everyone seemed to have a good time, including the birthday girl... especially after Elmo left.

July 2006

This July has been the hottest I can remember (we're really enjoying the air conditioning in our new house), however the weather managed to turn cold and rainy on the evening of the fourth. Typical Seattle. Regardless, we had fun riding in Uncle Tom's boat and playing with sparklers before the rain came.

Thomas the Train came to Snoqalmie, and we took Kyla to ride the rails. She had a lot of fun sticking her head out of the window. Fortunately she isn't as obsessed with Thomas as Asher, which has turned into an expensive hobby for his parents.

Kyla is growing more independent, and wants to do more activities herself. When she's done eating, she pulls a chair up to the kitchen sink and washes her dishes. It can be a long process, but Becky and I encourage it hoping that it will continue. She is also able to dress herself now, though her clothes need some adjusting afterwards.

Jumping has become her favorite sport. Whenever we go to Papa and Nana's house, she loves jumping on their trampoline. It makes us very nervous that she's going to jump off of it one of these days, but she's getting better at staying in the center. At swim class she loves doing safety jumps into the pool, where she jumps in and I turn her underwater to the side of the pool.

Kyla is beginning to develop a devious side to her personality. One of her buddies was playing with her toy stroller, which she is possessive of, so she went and got a cup of water, handed it to him, said "thank you," and walked off with her stroller. When she was at another friend's birthday party she really wanted some cake, but Becky wanted her to eat some pizza first. Kyla took a bite of pizza, spit it out, and then demanded cake. Becky eventually worked out a compromise where Kyla had to eat (and swallow) a bite of pizza and then she would get a bite of cake.

Only one month to go before the official start of the Terrible Twos, though with Kyla's strong will we often feel like we're already there. Becky and I are still debating which one of us she inherited that trait from.

June 2006

Thanks to me Kyla had her first ever visit to an emergency room this month. We were playing while she was lying on a bed and I began tugging her by her right arm. There was a very slight popping noise, after which she was obviously in pain. She had suffered a minor dislocation called Nursemaid's Elbow. A doctor was able to quickly pop it back into place and within minutes she was using that arm again.

Ironically my most awful experience as a parent occurred on Father's Day. Also this wasn't the first time I've done this to someone, I caused the same affliction on my sister Cassie when we were kids. Keep your kids away from me.

Another, less traumatic first for this month was Kyla playing with Barbie dolls. Curiously enough this was also something she experienced with me, so it was something of a first for both of us. Well maybe this wasn't technically a first for me as I do recall playing with some girls when I was five, though I recollect that whatever doll I was issued quickly joined the army and began fighting.

Kyla has become Raffi's newest fan. If you haven't already heard of him, Raffi is a popular children's musician. My brothers were big fans when they were young so I knew to encourage Kyla to listen to him as his music is more tolerable for me than most other toddler music. I've downloaded a few of his albums and put them on my iPod and whenever we get into my car Kyla always demands that we play Raffi (no more NPR for me).

After playing with a friend's tricycle, we decided it was time for Kyla to get one of her own. To my amazement we spend $150 on a model that was not even top of the line. However it definitely has more features than the one I used as a kid with a long handle in the rear and the ability to lock the front wheel in a straight position so that we can push her in it.

Summer is here and I'm looking forward to the adventures it will bring, though I hope we don't see the ER again for a long, long time.

May 2006

When I was four, my father had me pick weeds in his yard and paid me two cents for each one (this rate decreased over time as I became faster at it). I was reminded of this when Kyla and I were picking weeds in our own backyard. I'm not compensating her for it yet, as she has yet to grasp the concept of money.

On the 9th Kyla received her first haircut, though it was just to create some bangs in the front and trim the rest. She looked a little nervous getting it done, but she didn't put up a fight.

Becky was really excited to find a store called the Lakeshore Learning Center, which sells educational toys. Thanks to her shapes game Kyla now knows what a circle, square, star, and triangle are. She has also begun learning to identify letters; so far she knows T and O.

Unlike most kids her age (or just about any age), she really likes vegetables, even more than fruit. In order to balance her out, Becky makes us a lot of fruit smoothies, which she and I both love. Kyla's favorite food is Copper River salmon, which she never seems to get full of.

One of the prerequisites for potty training is a toddler's ability to dress and undress herself. Kyla managed to get her pants on all by herself... backwards. I guess it's not time to take those diapers out of the budget yet.

Changing her diaper has become a major struggle, often to the point where I am holding her down. In contrast, her cousin Rylee will just lie down in front of me when it is time to change. Fortunately Becky bought us a timer and Kyla is much more amiable after we give her a three minute warning and she hears the timer go off. Of course her strong will is not limited to diaper changing, when she and Becky go shopping, Kyla now wants to pick out her own shoes.

Even before she was born, I knew Kyla would not have a laid-back personality. Becky and I have no easygoing genes between us to pass to our offspring. I suppose that overall we should be proud that she takes after us, but sometimes it can be a real nuisance.

The Big Three-Oh

What does it mean to turn 30?

Several people have asked me if I feel old now. It seems to me that the definitive first moment of maturity is the birth of your first child. From that point on your needs take a back seat to the needs of someone else and the freedoms afforded to a young adult are no more. I have several friends who are older than I am who still carry-on a younger lifestyle, mainly because they are childless. For the record I do not envy them... most of the time.

Becky will often remind me that even before we had Kyla, or even got married for that matter, I never really acted all that young. My mother even used to refer to me as an "old soul." Perhaps that is why I looked forward to parenthood for so long, I had less to lose than most.

For my birthday Becky threw me a surprise party at our place attended by many of our family and friends. Our house was decorated with pictures and memorabilia from when I really was young. It was a lot of fun to hang out and drink more than my usual paltry limit (normally I have to drive home).

Now it is time to begin my journey into middle age...

April 2006

Kyla has begun singing entire songs on her own. Previously she would just sing isolated words or phrases, but now she can complete simple songs with the correct melodies. She often mangles a verse or two, but then so do I.

My cousin Jana got married on the 8th, and we really enjoyed the party. I lost track of how long Kyla was out on the dance floor, but she outlasted almost all of the adults. Good thing she doesn't sweat.

Since this was the first Easter since Kyla learned to walk, she had a far better time hunting for eggs. This is just one of several outdoors activities that we're spending more time doing since the weather has begun to warm up. It's nice to finally have a yard.

This month Kyla experienced her first timeout. She did not heed Becky's warnings about not throwing food on the floor and she was sentenced to approximately 30 seconds alone on the couch. She was very unhappy about it, but she endured her penalty until she was told she could come back to the table. I hope this timeout think is still effective 12 years from now.

March 2006

After over a year and a half, Kyla has finally turned the corner with her sleeping. She now regularly "sleeps through the night." This is probably not as profound as it sounds because technically sleeping through the night is defined as sleeping at least a five hour stretch, which is still a long ways from eight. Oh well, it's still a big improvement over the two hour stretches she used to max out at.

The only downside of her new sleeping pattern is that it doesn't take much to get her back to her old habbits, like being sick or having new teeth come in. After getting used to having more sleep, abruptly going back to the old system is really hard on us... okay it's really hard on Becky.

Kyla now counts to ten on her own, however she still does not seem to associate numbers with quantity. There apparently is something odd about the number four (ironic isn't it?), which she and two of her buddies who speak other languages skipped for a while. Just another interesting quirk of a developing mind we parents get to ponder.

February 2006

When I'm asked how old Kyla is, to those who have young children I answer 18 months, but to everyone else I can now say one and a half, and will probably continue to do so for another four months (after which I'll say she's almost two).

Kyla is capable of basic reasoning now. Before it was very difficult to motivate her to do what I wanted, but recently I've discovered that bargaining is a powerful parenting tool (e.g. "If you put on your jammies then I'll read you a story"). Her growing intellect has also resulted in some abilities that are not welcome, such as being able to open doors.

My own personality has begun to show in Kyla's. Even though we try mightily to keep her away from television (a recent study linked early TV watching to ADHD) she has developed a strong affinity for Dora the Explorer. She talks about Dora and her companions often, and really enjoys the Dora doll I got her. Becky calls this trait that Kyla and I share obsessiveness while I like to think of it as a strong sense of focus.

Unfortunately she still doesn't sleep through the night, so I still try to give Becky a little extra sleep by having Kyla hang out with me while I get ready for work in the morning (I've definitely got the better end of this arrangement). She really likes to mimic whatever I do when I'm getting ready, so we had to buy her a plastic razor so that she can shave. She looks really cute with shaving cream all over her face.

January 2006

Kyla has started showing affection in more traditional ways. She'll hug me now, something she always seemed too busy to do before. Becky has her give me a kiss on the cheek occasionally before bed. The moment she kisses me is one that I wish I could freeze in time to really take it in.

Her vocabulary continues to expand tremendously. What's notable to me now is that she hardly ever seems to say anything that isn't comprised of English. It doesn't seem very long ago that most of what she said was gibberish.

She's also learning etiquette, though she hasn't quite got it all straightened out yet. Whenever I hand her something she politely tells me, "You're welcome." Oh well, it's the thought that counts.