RUSHCAPADES!: Kaleia at 1.5 years!

Face pressed to the glass of the door at the Dancing for Joy studio, Kaleia is focused. Jamming her finger against the glass she shouts, "Mayno!"

Two things make our very active toddler stop in her tracks: 1) her big sister (Mayno) and 2) Dancing.

Kaleia has an undying love for her sister. While she does assert herself and takes what she wants, if Magnolia provides the slightest protest, Kaleia will stop. She initiates hugs and kisses, and while not a constant shadow, she definitely loves to copy her sister. Waiting for Magnolia to wake up is almost torture. At the slightest noise from Magnolia's room, Kaleia will turn and first whisper "Mayno?," then sprint to her closed door, cackling, and pound her little palms on the door screaming for her sister. The recently roused Magnolia is not always as excited at this wake up party, especially if her little sister's noise woke her prematurely.

As for dancing, watch for a video in the near future. Walking through my high school with the girls one day, we heard the orchestra practicing in the theatre. Kaleia stopped and bolted down the adjoining hall about 10 feet closer and just started groovin’. Any time this girl hears a beat, she can't help but move. And not in the normal toddler feet-planted single-motion "dance", but a full body celebration with arms waving, feet tapping, hips swaying and the occasional twirl, roll or crawl that may foreshadow future breakdancing skills. Her most frequent sign is for music, pointing at the cd player, insisting we turn it on. If her vocabulary was more advanced, she would not be requesting nursery lullabies, but Arcade Fire instead.

If Kaleia doesn't end up being a dancer or musician, she will probably be a dental hygentist, because this girl loves to brush her teeth. Any time in the bathroom, she signs to brush her teeth and can often be distracted, if need be, by suggesting a tooth-brushing session. The only hard part is ending it.

This week at Kaleia's well-check, Dr. Jen commented that "she has a sparkle in her eye." And it is so true. She lives life fully, throwing her whole body into everything, just like her dancing. Kaleia-leia throws, kicks, snuggles, kisses, and sings. She doesn't mind getting dirty; spoons are quickly discarded and plates invariably become hats.

Kaleia loves to laugh, and will often ask for "Mo Tickaticka." This weekend while changing her diaper, I alternated necessary steps with Zerberts to keep her in place. After each slobbery tummy tickle, she asked for more. One time I just tickled her with my fingers, to which she scrunched her brow and told me "No. More Plbthhhh." Her longest sentence yet.

While she doesn't know many words, Kaleia knows how to sing. You can tell she is singing her favorite "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," even though only a few of the syllables may be distinguishable, usually “up above...”. She also loves to make up her own songs, often inspiring her sister to join in.

Kaleia loves delivering bones to the dogs and has started looking at books on her own. She loves her baby and to our astonishment takes really good care of it despite never seeing us with a baby like her sister did. Babies are another surefire attention grabber. If there is one in the vicinity, making noise or not, she will notice.

She pretends more than Magnolia did at this age, feeding you or her baby, or talking on the phone. Kaleia loves hats or putting on costumes. And strangely, she is very tuned in to airplanes, just like her sister was. Go figure. She is still a string bean, weighing 21.5 pounds (15th percentile) and measuring 33 inches tall (85th percentile).

Words: Mama, Papa, Mayno, Baby, Shoosh (soother), Shoe, Bagel (food), Apple (food), Eee (eat), Moe (more), Peese (please), Mal (milk), Up, Nigh, Hi, Bye, Cah (car), Rah-rah (Rana, her stuffed frog), Buh (book), Bah (bath), No, mano (mine), ball, cheese, c(r)acker, ham, eye (always whispered), mou (mouth), Keia

Kaleia Shalom, we are blessed to share our life with you. May you never lose your sparkle!