So, it's only been what, a half a year? What's that in the overall scheme of things? Let's see...what's been happening?

First, the milestone stuff: Kaya crawls, cruises and claps. She also points, says something resembling "dada" and something I pretend is "mama" even though it's more like "mmmmm". I take what I can get. She's super cute and in almost every respect a really easy baby. She goes to sleep without a fuss if I stay in the room. If I leave, she cries, but as soon as I come back, she flops down and closes her eyes. She doesn't do the "cry till you barf" routine that Hayden was so famous for (thank God!). But then, we don't really test it either.

As for Hayden, she's 2 1/2 going on 12. She says, "That would be AWFUL!" after announcing the most likely looming disaster (As in, "If I jump, I fall. That would be AWFUL!"). She's able to carry on real conversations now and she can understand some subtlties that we don't always think about. So, we have to be a bit careful now about what discussions we have with her in earshot, unless we're okay with hearing them repeated in any situation.

In terms of "baby book" style memories...for postarity, here's Hayden's bedtime routine:
7:30 - get pjs on "All by myself".
Ride around the house on her tricycle in her pjs
Make a bottle. Yes, I know.
Ride to the bedroom on her tricycle with blue bunny on the handlebars and bottle in hand
Read a book. Current favorites: Richard Scary Around Town, Are You My Mother, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, The Little Engine That Could
Drink Bottle
Go Potty and Brush teeth. (This can take anywhere from ten minutes to a half hour)
Go back to the bedroom and shut off the lights.
Sing "ABC Song", "Twinkle Twinkle" "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and, for the grand finale "Baby Beluga"
Kiss goodnight and go to sleep.

Average light's out time: 8:30pm.