New Words and Cool Tricks!

This little Bean just oozes personality!

She is riding a growth and development phase and progressing beautifully...and as result, she's keeping us on our toes!  

 Chasing a balloon around the house: she is constantly in motion (unless sleeping).

 Ayla loves "her" Ipad and knows how to unlock the screens, scroll and open the keyboard. She also opens random aps and we've caught her trolling the internet a time or two.....

Disclaimer: if anyone receives a strange, garbled text/email sent from my Ipad...you know the culprit!

 One can surmise what Ayla is thinking based upon the facial expression: "Dad, hurry-it-up-I-want-to-go-and-play-and-would-you-STOP-touching-my-hair-already!!!" Peanut is not a fan of getting her hair done or taken out.

 Such a ham and her beautiful smiles are adorable!

 Loving her swing outside with the silent-open-mouth-scream!

Ayla is getting *somewhat* better in regards to walking on the grass. Given the choice- she would remain with hard, even surfaces.

 A new trick-

Look what I can do now!

Yep- Ayla learned to open the doors. She is extremely proud of this accomplishment and spent several minutes roaming the house opening and closing the doors.

She would smile ear-to-ear and clap her hands, especially when she learned that the door leading into the garage opens, too!

Thankfully the front door is too heavy to open, for now.....

On Tuesday we decided to take Ayla to visit the fair. It was hot and a bit noisy yet fun to stroll around and show new things to the Peanut.

 She wasn't sure what to think of the loud engines and having her picture taken.

 Investigating the mules and horses...or rather, they both did some investigating!

 After about an hour, Ayla began plugging her ears, squealing and closing her eyes: Sensory OVERLOAD!

It did get louder and busier towards the evening and Ayla was tired of being in her stroller and annoyed with the crowds. 

That was our cue to head home!  

 Once we got inside the car and began driving, Bean began smiling and hamming in the backseat. She was sooo ready to get back to peace and quiet!

 We sang silly songs and made funny noises to which Ayla responded by clapping her hands and opening her mouth in her infamous 'silent laughs'.

Sure do love this kid!

Ayla's learned some *NEW* Words!

• Please
• Peas
• Bye
• Cheese (but pronounced: cheeeeeeeeze!)
• Hi
• I (but pronounced: Iyeeeee!)

AND she can tell us the following:

"Ayla, what does a Monkey say?"

Ooh, Eh

"What does a Dog say?"

Wuf, Uf

"What does a Snake say?"

SSsssss

"What does a Cow say?"

Mo, Muh 

"Ayla, how you say 'Thank You' "?

She then signs 'thank you'

She can also sign 'more' and shake her head, 'No' 

Bean is fascinated with:

•  gadgets
• buttons
• electronics
• remotes
• tearing her diaper apart (literally, by the seams)
• calculators and tape
• books (aka- "chew toys")
• pens
• the washing machine
• her feeding button to which she ALWAYS pulls open and then it leaks all over herself
• paper towels to shred like confetti
• running away naked during diaper changes
• she likes to play "chase" and stomp her feet around

It's amazing how rapidly she is progressing-what a blessing!

In Motion and Reunion

Ayla is constantly in motion...CoNsTaNtLy!

It is a challenge to capture a decent picture of her as she walks and moves past- especially when she spies a camera (which she must absolutely have, right then).

It's as if a "turbo-growth-button" was pushed and she's sprouting like a weed and doing so many fun and new things! We are truly enjoying the place she is at the moment and relishing her every progress, no matter how small an accomplishment.

Peanut is one smart whipper-snapper for sure, not much gets past her!

On the move- go,go,go,go!

 This is new and entertaining: Ayla began walking 'blind' by lifting her head and closing her eyes while walking silly and giggling.

Many times she has crashed onto the floor or bumped into objects (like the wall or furniture) walking like this.

 This is a new favorite:
just look at those eyelashes and gorgeous eyes!

 Playing 'airplane' with dad!

Ayla loves, LOVES motion and 'rough-housing' but her little tummy gets mightily upset after a few minutes and she begins coughing and gagging.....fun over!

 A new trick learned at Tumble Time: somersault!

The video below is Peanut holding a conversation with the dining room lights. She was very expressive and animated during this conversation and we managed to capture a bit of it on video!

Notice her glasses are missing?
At times it poses a challenge keeping those on her face! When she becomes upset, annoyed, bored or tired of wearing them she flings them off and it's usually a hunt to discover WHERE they landed! and then you hope they landed in one piece with lenses intact.



 "My, she is a curious little girl."

Yes, Ayla is curious and inquisitive...and she discovered a prior hidden cupboard underneath the phone. Her mission: quickly empty said cupboard and scatter contents all over the house.

Literally.

 This is Blake, Ayla's adorable cousin.

He and his parents came from California to visit for the Stephenson Family Reunion this weekend.

Blake and Ayla get along famously and Blake was rather captured with Ayla's shiny, pink shoes!

Though they were many sizes too large, he proudly clomped/ran around the house showing them off.

Too funny!

 Caught Ayla holding a cell phone to her ear and saying, "Hi!"

Occasionally, she'll pick up a toy or phone and hold it to her ear and jibber-jabber.

Her newest and most popular phrase is, "Hi!" when she sees you or someone walks into a room. Friendly little Bean!

 Aunt Teresa made Ayla a 'birds crown' at the World Center for Birds of Prey. What a neat place!

We visited there for a family reunion activity on Saturday.

This crown lasted a solid 2 seconds before Ayla ripped it off her head and began tearing/shredding into a million pieces.

 The 'Birds of Prey' tour took place during naptime and as you can judge from Peanuts expression- she isn't thrilled to be strapped into a stroller...

however, she did manage to perk up and pinch my nose when attempting to capture a 'mother-daughter' picture!

 Attempting to capture Ayla smiling and looking at the camera? Not likely...

 After our tour, we headed to a local park for a BBQ and games. Ayla cooled off with her squirt bottle and ran around shirtless.

Gotta love the buddah-bellyness.

Ryan's grandfather and Ayla's Great-Grandfather stayed the weekend with us over the reunion.

Howard is such a neat, positive influence in our lives and we enjoyed our time with him!

On Sunday we went for a visit to see Zoey and enjoy the sunshine.

Before leaving, we asked Ayla to give her sister a kiss....

and she did!

So sweet and caused a misty-eyed moment.

Though Ayla will grow without her younger sister, she will grow knowing who she was a what a miracle both their lives are.

Peanut loves her 'gmpa' and would oftentimes walk up to him and throw her arms around his legs or pat his arms. She and great-grandpa share a special bond.

Both enjoyed the Ipad and Ayla was able to show 'gmpa' a few tricks! 

It's incredibly rewarding to watch Ayla grow and progress, yet sad, too. She is no longer our little baby but a growing, feisty toddler who is ready to explore and dive head-first into trouble. Her curious nature and sharp whit keep us quite entertained!

Seriously, who needs television when Ayla is much more fun to watch? and blessedly, our television has been broken which is rather neat because we have spent more time doing "family" stuff. It keeps us more focused on Ayla and enjoying her.....not that we watched much television prior, but it's been great without it! 

Regarding the Eating Department, we are happy to see that Ayla is about where she was before her last surgery in May. Each surgery has delayed her eating therapies and she is about to the point she was before having her throat repaired. Blessings!   

Check-up and "Baby"

Ayla's latest statistics:

Weight: 30 pounds 9 ounces

Height: 33.5 " = 10%

Adjusted/Development Age: 18 months

Cuteness Level: off the charts!

Ayla's pediatrician is pleased with her continual progress- though eating progression is s-l-o-w, which is expected and we are thrilled she is doing as great as she is.  She'll continue receiving check-ups every quarter.  

Today Peanut mimicked 2 new words: "please" and "baby".

Very sweet!

Managed to capture those elusive words on video below during eating therapy: 

 Ayla sitting at the table during eating therapy- not sure what this pose is about but it's hilarious!

Reminds me of something out of a 'Dennis the Menace' movie scene...

 As Ayla insists on pulling her hair out we have conceded to styling her hair in the 'side-comb-over' secured with a clip....she's cute enough to pull it off!

 Teasing: placed a balloon under Bean's shirt and she wasn't sure about that...

A recently new activity Ayla has taken to performing: pulling the pillows off the couch and rolling them across the room!

What a blessing this little girl has been and it's such fun watching her progress and accomplish those 'normal' toddler activities. She is smart, curious, active/busy and loaded with personality and we wouldn't have her any other way!  

California: 33 hours and 2,200 miles

Last week Ayla embarked upon her first "official" vacation.

Little Peanut earned the award for the 'World's- Best-Two-Year-Old-Traveler' during the long drive....she was such a good girl and did not complain- she was fabulous! 

Enjoy the plethora of pictures!  

 Sitting in her car seat 'drinking' water from a squirt bottle

(Although, most of the water ended up on her). 

 Tim serenading Ayla on the ukulele- she loved it!

After driving through most of the night Friday, stopping in Winnemucca and continuing onward to Pasadena- we finally arrived at Amy & Tim's house.

 Peanut's favorite game on the Ipad- an interactive Zoo!

This keeps her semi-occupied as she sits in her chair and eats. Bean can turn the pages and her favorite animals are the hyena, cats, seals and rhino's.  

 We attended an outdoor concert and during, Ayla decided she needed to give Aunt Amy a new hair-style.  

 Peanut had serious fun 'styling' Amy's hair...and as you can tell by her silent-open-mouth-excited-scream, she was really into it!

Our first beach stop: Venice Beach 

 In the beginning, Ayla was unsure and scared of the beach and sand- she refused to put her feet down!

 Once we finally convinced her to stand, she was not pleased and held tightly onto Ryan

 Eventually, Ayla decided sand and water was quite fun and took off towards the surf. She would chase the waves as they receded and 'stomp/splash' her feet in the sand!  

 The infamous silent-excited-open-mouth-scream!

 Venice Beach was beautiful, large and busy full with an assortment of all types of peoples. We enjoyed boogey-boarding, swimming and lounging about soaking up the sun 

 Peanut managed to fling sand everywhere- literally. It was even found inside her feeding button and tube! 

Her first visit to a beach and she LOVED it!   

 We took a tour of the old Union Station and rode the underground trains to Hollywood. This fountain was located in one of the waiting courtyards inside Union Station- very beautiful!

 Making our way underground to catch the trains!

 Ayla was such a trooper during the long train rides and walks- her little eyes went crazy looking at the bright lights and the odd people walking the streets of Hollywood.

 This picture: The True Stars of Hollywood Blvd!

After spending a few days with Amy & Tim, it was time to travel to Manteca and visit Rustin & Lisa. They live about 6 hours north of where we were.

Once again, Ayla earned the "Super-Star-Award" for the best traveler!  

 Ayla playing with her little cousin, Blake.

Those two had much fun playing and running around together.

 Ryan painting Ayla's toenails in preparation for our trip to the beach! Lucky girl gets a manicure, even on vacation.

We headed to Manresa Beach in Santa Cruz for a fun Saturday at the beach!

It was overcast, chilly and breezy but still a beautiful day.

 Peanut had fun dipping her feet in the water and chasing waves

 I believe this expression is Ayla's, "Hear me Roar- I am Queen of the Sand Castle!"

After a fun adventure-filled week spent with family, it was time to leave California and travel back to Boise!

 Driving past Lake Tahoe along Donner's Pass- beautiful mountain scenery!

It went from blue skies and green mountains to flat dessert, sudden rain storm and hammering winds!

 Yet Ayla remained all smiles and happiness while strapped into her car seat.

Note the glasses are missing: she refuses to wear them in the car and if we're not watching, she'll take them off, pop the lenses out and toss them in the back. Huh.

Our mini-vacation was loads of fun and it was great bringing Ayla to see family and experience something new- the beach! The total drive-time amounted to 33 hours and 2,200 miles which makes for loooong periods in the car. Perhaps next time we'll fly...maybe. 

 Ayla back at home happily shredding tissue paper and making messes- her speciality.

and destroying hapless yogurt-covered-pretzels.....

What's new in Ayla-Land:

• Saying "Hi" and "ma-ma" (finally!)
• Taking off her glasses, popping the lenses out and chewing on them
• Hitting- not only us but also herself (not sure where she learned that one)
• Partially mimicking our funny faces and noises
• Folding her arms when we pray
• Jibbering more often, especially in the mornings
• Sleeping through the night (hooray!!)
• Pulling out her hair (poor girl is getting bald!)
• Playing with her diaper: she has a comfort technique in which she sucks her thumb and grabs the top side of her diaper and tugs on it. We call this her "Diaper-Thumb" routine which appears often when she's stressed, anxious or tired
• Shadowing or following us wherever we go- she is extremely curious and wants to know what we are doing and why. Always.