MOM...here is your update

My mom called me out today and said that she wanted a 14 month Mikayla Update! So mom...and everyone else that watches this blog...here you go!

Miss. Mikayla Faith turned 14 months old on August 17th! She was seven months when she came home and now she has been home for almost 7 months! We have hit a major milestone because from here on out....she has been in the US longer then in Guatemala. Where did the time go and why did it seem like those FIRST seven months went much slower then last seven?

Mikayla is now full force walking. Gone are the days of sitting and crawling. The sitting days lasted a loooooong time....the crawling days only lasted 1.5 months. She was on a mission to walk and she has accomplished it! Of course she still falters every once in awhile but all in all...she is doing great with her new found walking skills.

In the past month her personality has really begun to come through. She has no problem telling you in babble what she wants. NO PROBLEM. And she equally has no problem telling you when she is NOT happy. Mikayla is a lover. She loves, loves, LOVES to give hugs and she gives them all the time. And not short hugs...Loooooooong hugs. The good kind where she wraps her arms around your neck and cuddles into that crook between your neck and head. That's HER spot and I like it! She also loves to have her hair rubbed. She will give you a hug and then you can keep her there for a good ten to fifteen minutes just by rubbing her hair or humming her a song. She is a very affectionate little girl.

She goes to bed each night no later then 8:00 pm. She gets back up at about 5:00 am for a bottle, we need to work on cutting it out but it is one of those things that comforted her when she came home so now she's hooked on it, and then typically goes back to sleep until 9:00 to 10:00 am...much to the happiness of her mother who loves to sleep until noon!

She is getting ready to start her 4th months of the INH medication that she has been taking due to her positive TB test. She has done really well with it and takes it in the morning with her cereal.

She is really slimming down since she started crawling and then walking. Her "belly" although still there is not QUITE as there anymore. She is still fitting into her 6-12 months clothing and here and there she can wear 12-18 months. Just depends on the brand. Her shoe size is still a 2 and I have no idea how she balances herself on such tiny feet...but the video below is proof that she can.

Her language is still delayed a bit but I am not concerned about it. This is typical when children are adopted Internationally. She never really heard English in her first 7 months. Although she can't SAY the words quite yet....she TRIES to. But right now she has four words, mama, dada, bubu (brother), and baba (bottle). She will get there...and it sure is hard to be concerned when she has surpassed all my expectations so far with catching up.

Mikayla loves to laugh and can be a little Diva at times. She is usually very calm and happy but if she is OFF her schedule then WATCH OUT. She gets cranky in a hurry. She is very much full of personality and is so much fun to watch. I think she is going to give Alec a run for his money. She is one confident little princess. Is she spoiled? You bet...but tell me...how can she NOT be when it is imperative that adoptive parents practice attachment parenting when their children come home. However, she will sit and play by herself for an hour at a time at least so I guess she is not TOO spoiled... but when she wants held...SHE WANTS HELD and usually mom or dad are happy to oblige.

What's her favorite food? Try EVERYTHING...that is, if it doesn't have milk in it! She will literally eat anything you put in front of her. She loves to eat. LOVES TO EAT. However, she REALLY like peaches and bananas. She has done just OK switching to Soy milk. We have had a tough time with it. These milk allerigies sure do eliminate a lot of foods! She also likes to eat grass, carpet fuzz, leaves, string, or anything else that she sees. Thank God for Dyson!

Her favorite toys consist of balls, she loves them and particularly likes to have one in each hand so that she can bang them together. But we have one of those ball machine toys by Playschool when you put it in the animals' mouth and it rolls down. Whatever...don't know how to explain it but she loves that toy. She also loves to walk or ride on her Dora walker. Her favorite thing of all though? Her pink bear lovey that Grandma Di got her for my baby shower. She won't go to sleep without it and that thing has seen the world already. It also accompanies us on many car rides. Bless the lovey.

So that is a "Mikayla Update" for everyone. I will do one on Alec next week for his birthday...which is August 30th:-)