and One Year Old Girl
At 1 year old Kara is very social and talkative. Currently she says, Mama, Dada, baby, ball. Christine taught her "beep beep" , and our friend Marsha taught her to say, "purple". One of Kara's first words was, "happy". When she says it sounds more like "appy". At times it sounds like she is singing "appy ber day" it's very sweet. Kara loves music and can be seen moving and grooving when songs are playing. When Kara first meets someone they usually comment that they don't think she likes them because she will have a frown on her face. It doesn't take long for her to warm up and soon she will be smiling and waving. In fact she waves at everyone, especially cars and strangers in the grocery store parking lot. I love the way she waves, arm fully up in the air and bending just at the wrist. Reminds me of a southern belle waving her hankie. Kara gives hugs and kisses and makes a loud "mmmmmppppaaaahh" sound. Kara enjoys blowing raspberries on bellies too. She likes to "speed crawl" these days and can also be caught walking un-assisted for short distances. Kara loves her brother and tries to be near him. It's fun to watch her try to get in his red chair with him while he is watching TV. While most of the time Joshua is her friend, there are times where she acts as though he were her arch enemy. Times where she screams at him, shakes, and bites, yes bites her poor brother. She has a strong will. She doesn't let a lot get in her way when she sees something she wants. We tried teaching Kara sign language and the only sign that really caught on was the sign for "more". Actually to Kara the sign for more really means, "give me what I want". Whether it's something to eat, being carried downstairs in the morning or given a toy. Kara loves animals. She has an animal book she enjoys but is especially excited to see a real live animal be it our rabbit or the kitties at Auntie Kendra's house. Kara is very attached to Mommy right now and it's hard to get out of her sight these days. I'm trying to savor this as I know one day she may not want too much to do with me (around 13 years old perhaps?). While most people say Kara looks a lot like her Mommy, I can also see a lot of other resemblances in her. When she smiles very big, she looks a lot like her Grandma Baxter. Other times she reminds us of my Nona and of Auntie April. We feel so lucky to be Kara's parents. She brightens up our days with her sweet smile and fiery spirit.
Joshua is three years old! How did this happen so quickly? I imagine I will still be asking this when he is 18! He has really grown up a lot this past year and I am seeing him less and less as a baby and more and more as a little boy. He is very sweet and creative. He has a great imagination. Joshua loves to be with his cousins, especially Brooklyn who is only 9 months older than him. They play together a lot. Lately, the favorite game is "Doctor". Joshua lays down and Brooklyn sits over him with a tool of some sort examining him. It's very cute and I keep a close eye on them to make sure it doesn't get too exploratory! Joshua's other favorite play mate is Daddy. He loves it when Vince is home. Their favorite game these days is "Good Guy, Bad Guy" Joshua will run up to Vince and say, "Come on Daddy, let's go get the bad guys, they are in there" and he will point and run off into the other room. For his birthday he got some Super Man PJS. He asks to wear these all the time, but usually not to bed. He likes to wear them during the day. Vince downloaded the Superman theme song on iTunes and will fly Joshua around the room while he plays it. Joshua beams! I am also starting to see that Joshua has some very specific preferences. The other day I came downstairs with my hair up in a rubber band. Joshua immediately told me that he didn't like that and to take it out. Joshua says, "I like your hair long, and straight, by your neck so you look like a Momma." He is also very particular about his beverages. When he asks for milk, he usually reminds me that he wants the cup filled all the way to the top. I always tease Vince for being so particular, so of course I think Joshua must be taking after his Daddy. Truth be told, I can be rather persnickety at times too. Joshua enjoys arts and crafts, he likes to paint and draw. Recently he told me that "naked" crayons helped him draw better. So he spent a good part of the morning peeling off the paper from most of his crayons. One of Joshua's stranger preferences is for candles. He loves them! I think it may have started with birthday candles, but it has expanded beyond that to include any thing that resembles a candle, not to mention Wiki sticks. He doesn't like to light candles, just likes to get them out, look at them, carry them around, sleep with them clutched in his little fists. He loves going to Nona's house and one of his favorite things there is a drawer full of candles that Nona so graciously lets him play in. It is quite a sight to see him pouring over the candles all spread out on the dinning room table. Joshua is very loving. Some of my favorite moments are when he will put his arms around me or Vince and say, "Mommy (or Daddy), your the best". He also says sweet things like, "Sure is a beautiful day outside" and the other day he told me, "You sure have a beautiful family" At night when he is going to bed he likes to have Mommy and Daddy laying with him. He asks Vince to tell him a story. .. a story about "the family" We feel so blessed to have him in our family!
*** photos used with permission from photographer http://kendrawatsonphotography.wordpress.com/
