Today Mommy and Daddy returned to work and Kayla returned to school. After school, we started on the normal routine of dinner and then headed for a bath. Kayla threw a bit of a tantrum and didn't want to get in the tub so I sat her in her crib until she calmed down.

After crying it out a bit, I went in to get her and she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, no...bye,bye". I guess that was her way of asking me to leave. I was a little hurt, but I walked out and decided to give her some alone time. I heard her start talking so I peeked in from around the corner. She kept covering up her UCLA bear and saying "night, night" to him, then trying to feed him with her sippy cup. It was pretty funny. She just went on and on talking to him, laying him down to sleep, laying down beside him and then trying to feed him.

She's definitely getting more nurturing because I've caught her several times trying to feed the cat with her sippy cup of milk. She makes Mike and I laugh.

Also, for those keeping track of the potty episodes... (it's too early to actually call it potty training), she's gone #2 in the potty twice this week. We can't celebrate too much though. Both times, she followed by running out of the bathroom naked and peeing on the carpet. :-)

Kayla spent this Christmas in Indiana visiting 2 Great Grandmas, 1 Grandma, 1 Uncle, 2 Great Uncles, 1 Aunt, 1 Great-Great Aunt and too many cousins to count. Her Grandma Sue bought her a nice red Christmas dress and of course, she looked adorable. She's definitely not into Santa Claus yet (she cries hysterically at the site of him), but she got plenty of presents this year. To list a few:

Wood puzzles
Bath animals
Outfits and pajamas
A UCLA musical bear
Books
Trivia questions for toddlers
A cookie jar to help count cookies
Lacing beads
Hello Kitty purse

Kayla made her 7th plane trip up to see her Grandmas. Thanks to our portable DVD player, the trip up was easy. The Dora the Explorer videos helped keep Kayla entertained. She even got her own seat, since the plane wasn't full. She fell asleep 15 minutes before we landed and stayed sleeping through a really rough landing. She didn't wake up until we walked outside the airport on the way to the rental car. The weather in Chicago was WINDY -- imagine that.

But, there wasn't any snow, which was ok. Her Grandma Sue actually had to drive to Indiana from Denver after a major snow storm had closed the airport there for a couple days and cancelled her flight. Fortunately, everyone made it there including Uncle Trevor from L.A. It was a really nice, memorable Christmas.

One very important thing I realized I forgot to mention that Kayla did yesterday...

I told Kayla "I love you" and she looked at me, smiled and said "I love you" back. It was very clear. Then, she did it again today.

After work tonight, she pulled another surprise. I fed her dinner and took her in for her bath. Again, I took off all her clothes and she headed right for her toilet, sat down, smiled, and pee'd in the toilet! 2 nights in a row of using her little potty. I think she thinks it's funny that I get so excited.

Today Kayla is 18 months old. She is happy and healthy (with the exception of her blocked tear duct) and so much fun to be around.

A couple of weeks ago, we bought Kayla a little training toilet. Although we're not intentionally trying to potty train her right now, she has taken a liking to her toilet seat. So, we set it right next to the big toilet in the bathroom.
Well, before her bath tonight, she kept saying "poopy" and wanted to sit in it. I had to let her otherwise she'll throw a fit and won't go in the tub. So, after taking off her clothes, I let her sit in it and sure enough, she POOPED in it!
Maybe this is just a one time event but it was still exciting. For all of you that are reading this and don't change diapers regularly, you're probably wishing you hadn't read this blog entry. But, for us, it's a big deal and we're celebrating!

I opted against a photo of Kayla on the potty (although I did consider it) and chose this little Christmas photo instead.

Here's a few pictures from Kayla's 2nd Thanksgiving. We had a great flight up to Warren, Ohio. We scheduled the flight during Kayla's nap and she fell asleep during takeoff and woke up as we landed. It was great! Almost everyone made it to Thanksgiving at PopPop and Nana C's house. The only ones absent from the family photo are Tammy (who stayed in SanDiego) and Grace (who was napping). Even Titus (Uncle Ed and Aunt Kristi's German Shepard) who is 101 made it. The third picture shows Kayla and her cousin Grace. They were funny to watch together. Kayla was definitely showing her toddler instincts by holding her toys and saying "baby no! to Grace. Hopefully, it's just a phase! Afterall, she is 17 months old and quickly approaching the terrible twos. Kayla also got to go see Santa at Kraynak's a couple days after Thanksgiving. She wanted nothing to do with him and held on tight to Daddy. Oh well, maybe next year.