A Love For Reading

Karis loves to read books.  She will go through a whole bin of books and "read" each one, page by page.  If you catch her looking at one of her favorite books, you might even think she can read because she's got the pages memorized. 

The other night, she wasn't tired so I let her stay up to read books.  She was again going through her bin.  She had finished the books piled to her right and still had about ten more in the bin.  

I'm hoping Karis will learn to read soon because she definitely wants to... and maybe then Derek and I won't have to read the same books over and over again.  =)  She learned all her letters when she was about 26 months old.  Now she can tell you what letters certain words start with.  Or, if you give her a letter she can tell you what word starts with that letter.  It's a start!  

Here's a video of Karis.  She spelled her name several times on a different day.  But of course when I pull out the video camera she gets all mixed up and can't spell her name!

Makena likes to look at books as well, so hopefully she will learn to love to read books as well.  

Makena, As You Turn 18 Months Old

Makena, you are 18 months old!  I don't know how you became a big girl so fast!  

Shortly after you were born, I began praying that because of your faith, your prayers would move mountains.  I continue to do so today.  To my surprise, one of your first words was "Amen!"  Now, every day at every meal you put your hands together to remind Daddy or me to pray.  I don't know how you remember, but you want to pray at EVERY meal, EVERY day.  And as much as you love to eat, you sit there with your hands together until the prayer is over.  But, if prayers are too long for you, you aren't afraid to call out, "Amen!" to declare that it's time to eat.  

You are definitely the happiest when you are eating (you are in the 75th percentile for weight).  You are a great sleeper.  You rarely wake up in the middle of the night and you love to take naps.  You have gotten way more attached to your pacifiers in the last month or so.  Instead of just sleeping with them, you now like to have them while at home.   When you wake up, you are always content hanging out in your crib with your pacifiers and bunny blanket.   

When you're awake... well it's a different story.   You are loud and strong-willed.  You know what you want and you aren't afraid to express it.  To be honest, it can be frustrating, but I know it's going to develop into a beautiful thing when you are older.  I don't really blame you for getting so upset when you need something, don't get what you want or get something taken away from you.  Having a sister only 15 months older hasn't been the easiest thing.  Plus, I think Daddy and I expect a little too much from you for your age.  You definitely hear the word, "no" from all three of us a lot.  It must be frustrating and thus the reason you can be so vocal and adamant about things.   

It's obvious that you think you are a 2 year old.  You want to do and have everything Karis does.  You copy everything she does from falling down to reading books to grabbing things and saying, "Mine."  I let you get away with too much, just to have a few free minutes.  One example is markers.  I let you play with them because it keeps you occupied, but then you write on inappropriate things, like your belly...

You are doing well with speaking words.  Though each word you say isn't clear, you are definitely building up a good vocabulary.  I'm always amazed at how much you can understand as well.  

I love to hear you giggle.  You are quite ticklish.  You love to push the baby stroller around.  It's fun to see you play with dolls because Karis never did.  

You love buckles.  Thanks to you, every buckle in our house is always buckled at all times.  

Makena, I am so in love with you.  No matter what you do or how loud you are, I can't stop hugging and kissing you (I've been meaning to look up what the long-term effects are of constant  smothering on a child).  I'm trying to enjoy every day with you because I know the days will fly by.  Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Today's Pics

On our "Family Day" we discovered a zoo not too far from us -- The Orange County Zoo. It's a great little zoo that's not crowded and has plenty of animals for the girls to enjoy.

While we were there, we ran into a friend with his daughter who is about seven months younger than Karis.  It was fun to catch up with our friend and for the girls to play together.  

Story Time at the zoo:

A little snack break before going into the petting zoo:

Grooming goats:

She found one perfect for her size:

Running through the field picking leaves while their daddies talked:

These Are A Few of Her Favorite Things...

The other day, we woke up to cloudy skies.  By the time we were eating breakfast, it was pouring rain.  The girls were hoping to go for a bicycle ride with Derek that day.  To cause some distraction and to ward off the disappointment, I built a fort by the couch.

Karis invited her favorite friends into her secret place.  After she was done with the fort, Karis asked, "Mommy, what do I do next?"  I suggested she read a book to her friends.  She laid down her friends and before she could grab a book, she ran upstairs to use the bathroom.  While I waited for her to come back down, I took a snapshot of her friends as they waited for her as well.

Karis has never been a fan of dolls but she will occasionally play with stuffed animals.  Of all the stuffed animals that we have, she plays with these little ones the most.  As I looked at the photo I realized that each one was given to her by a family member.

Her beloved Fluffy was a gift from Nana, before she was born.  Derek bought her Douglas the dog when we were in a bookstore on the east coast passing some time.  Karis was about six months old.  Karis received the big Hello Kitty from Julie Emo at Jessi's 3rd birthday party.  Grandpa bought the little Hello Kitty at The Rainforest Cafe the last time he visited us.  I bought her the Boots stuffed animal knowing how much she likes Dora and Boots.  

I doubt Karis remembers who gave her each one, but perhaps these ones will grow up with her in the years to come.

Karis' First Solo Ride

Derek and I took the girls to Irvine Spectrum (outdoor mall) to play in the water fountain.  Afterwards, Derek took Makena with him to Target while Karis and I headed to the pet store to check out the animals.  

Karis wanted to go on the train so I bought her a ticket.  Too cheap and unwilling to cram myself into the train, I sent Karis off by herself (the train didn't go far and it was slow enough that I could walk next to it -- which I did). 

Karis was so excited to get to ride the train, and on top of that, to go all by herself. I loved watching the excitement through her little face!

Words

I love hearing Makena's little voice speak words... buckle, bubble, nigh-nigh, etc.  She makes animal sounds and even sort of sings "Diego" (from the show Go, Diego Go!).  Tonight she kept saying "peek-a-boo" as we lifted a flap in one of her books.

Whenever I give Makena a snack, I tell her, "thank you."  When she repeats it, I know I would be the only one to understand it as 'thank you.'  But now, she says it quite well.  Listen...

Labor Day

It was nice to have an extra day together as a family this week with Labor Day weekend.   We set out for a hike in the morning.  Derek had taken both girls by himself on the same trail last Friday.  He made it sound like it was a piece of cake.  Today should have been easier because I came along too... but it wasn't.Makena woke up a bit cranky and she was tired all morning.  She kept asking me to go night-night while on the hike.  For awhile she didn't want to be held, but she wouldn't walk either.  She would just stop and watch the many hikers and bikers, especially if they had a dog with them.  I carried her about half the time.  Karis did great and she ran around with her usual endless amounts of energy.  She finally got tired towards the end of our 1 1/2 hour hike and opted for a ride in the backpack.  Though it was tiring for us, we enjoyed being outside with the girls.  

A beautiful day for a hike

Karis saw a lady with a walking stick and wanted one too.

Derek with Makena in tow

"Mom, why do I have to sit here and take a picture?  Can I go now?"

While they waited for Makena and I to catch up, Karis hid and jumped out of the bushes when we caught up.

Playing with sticks.  Notice we dress Karis in bright clothing so that she's visible if we lose her in the woods.   =) 

Derek relieved me and took Makena off my hands.  He ended up carrying both of them the last stretch (while they ate grapes).  

Giggles in PJs

The other day I bought some pajamas for the girls.  I bought a set of identical ones because I didn't want Karis to reject hers because she liked Makena's better.  They wore them last night and I found out that there's something about wearing matching pajamas that makes them act silly.