Finally home...

We have been traveling like crazy and feel like we haven't gotten a chance to catch up with anything in ages. We had a good trip in MD and got to see a lot of family and a few friends. Kaia did really well with the long car trip and being surrounded with a room full of people she had only met once when she was 3 months old. She did spike a 103 degree temperature while we were there. I had my hands full with her and didn't get to help my dad with much of anything. Before we drove back to Newport we drove into DC to spend the day and night with Aunt Leigh (my best friend from high school). That night Bryn watched Kaia and Leigh and I got to go out for a few hours. Much needed for both of us:)

Since we have been back Kaia is continuing to get stronger and more independent. We had our second water tots class at the Boys and Girls Club. She did so well and smiled, clapped and laughed for the entire 1/2 hour class. Three times she purposefully put her face flat down into the water. I thought maybe the first time was by accident, but she continued to do it. She didn't cry at all - just made a face when she brought her face out of the water. Yesterday we had sign class. We have missed a number of classes with our travels and I think she has missed them. Usually she is pretty attached to me. She will walk around and check everyone out, but that is while she is holding my fingers. Yesterday she just took off crawling into the center of the area full of toys and was playing with other kids. I was soooo excited! Today we had music and that was a little different experience. She stays really close to me and isn't very animated like she is during the rest of our activities. It might be because music is in a much more open space with a lot more people. She enjoys it, but she very mellow. She just sits there and takes everything in. Until the quite wind down time and then she talks and is all over:)

Kaia is cruising around the furniture and walks the house while only holding one of my fingers from one hand. Bryn described it pretty well today, that most of the time it doesn't even feel like she is using our finger. She is crawling around more and is pulling up on things I would rather she didn't. We are in the process of cleaning various nooks and crankies of our rental since she can get everywhere now. A couple of days ago Bryn called me into our playroom and I saw Kaia holding on to a walking toy we bought her. Bryn let go and she walked all of the way across the room with it. I was both scared and amazed. Apparently I walked early too. When we were in MD she also started another new trick (aside from walking by herself). The day after taking her steps she started waving to my dad. Grandad got the first waves of hello/goodbye and Kaia couldn't stop herself from doing it all the time. Today when she woke up from her nap I picked her up and she immediately started waving to everything in her room. It is so cute!