First word?

This week we went to Florida (I'll post some photos and details on that soon). We arrived last Saturday evening, enjoyed a warm, sunny week, and returned home to a very cold Indiana this afternoon. Arya had a very fun time and enjoyed watching the birds on the beach, swimming in the pool, and trying to eat sand and seashells. :)

Last Sunday morning we were sitting at the table eating breakfast, while Arya's Grandpa Ray was holding her. We were trying to get her to show him her tricks. "Where is the light, Arya?" "Do you see the light?" Of course, Grandpa was impressed to see her look up, find the light, and point! This game went on for some time, and it was Grandpa who noticed that when we would talk about the light, Arya kept babbling the same thing, "ight." Was she really trying to say her first word? We thought it might just be coincidence at first, but then she kept doing it all week. So, we think that "light" can probably be considered her first word. (Mom is conviced that she has also been saying "hi" this week.) To me, it is amazing to think that this little girl who has only been here for 10 months, is learning that words have meaning and that there are ways she can communicate. I'm sure this is only the beginning, but I'm definitely enjoying getting to watch as it all happens!

Isn't she cute?!

Learning so much!

So how do I catch up on all of the things Arya has been doing when we've been too busy to blog for 2 1/2 months? Well, I don't think I can do it in one post, but I'll do as much as I can for now.

Arya is learning so many new things. Today she stood on her own for the first time for about 3-4 seconds. I was amazed, and I think that she was too. She is cruising everywhere - around the coffee table, the couch, and around anything else she can hold onto. She'll often stand at the coffee table playing with a toy without really holding on to anything - just kind of balancing herself with her tummy.

She started pulling up the last week in October. I remember her pulling up to her knees on Grandma Carol's box of blocks that she loves to play with on the day of Liz's bridal shower (10/28/06). She had done it once earlier in the week, but that day seemed to be the turning point. Within about another week, she was pulling up regularly to a standing position, and by Liz's wedding on 11/11/06, she had basically mastered that skill.

I'm going to have to think about when Arya started crawling on her hands and knees. For a long time, she would get up on her hands and knees and wait, but she'd go back down into her army crawl if she wanted to go anywhere quickly! But not anymore! Now she's all about crawling on her hands and knees and she is speedy - let me tell you!

One of the funny things that Arya does to make us laugh is her fake cough. When we went to Iowa for Liz and Ben's reception there the weekend of Nov. 26, this was the new trick that Arya learned. Liz had a bad cough and she noticed that when she would cough, Arya would do this funny little fake cough. Then she'd look at us and smile, like she knew she was being funny. So, we started coughing, getting her to do her fake cough, and then we'd all laugh, which would encourage Arya all the more. We could pretty much count on Arya's response whenever we'd try to get her to do it...until the week before Christmas. I don't know if she got tired of it, or she forgot how to do it or what happened, but no matter what we'd try we couldn't get her to do her fake cough trick! Then, she coughed a real cough one night around the time we went to Toronto, and the trick was back! We'll see how long it lasts this time.

Arya has recently learned the meaning of several things that we say. The week after Christmas, we realized that she knew what it meant when we said, "Clap your hands!" She responds by clapping! Once we realized that she understood that phrase, Rajeev began working on teaching her the Nepali version, "Tali bajau!"

While we were in Toronto the week before last, she learned to point to the light when we say, "Batti khoi?" Soon after she also learned that the same response goes with the English version, "Arya, where is the light?"

In the last couple of weeks she also has kind of learned what it means when we say, "Arya, give Mommy/Daddy a kiss!" She won't always do it, but a lot of times she'll lean in open her mouth and push it against your cheek. We've also been working on getting her to blow kisses. We can't count on her to do it when she is asked, but she will occasionally do it. She'll bring her open hand to her mouth and then kind of repeat this several times.

The other really cute thing that she has just learned is tickling. When we say "Tickle, tickle, tickle" she will wiggle her fingers and touch you, and make this sound, "Tk, tk, tk, tk." Obviously she can't say "tickle", but she mimics the "tk" sound, and it is so cute!

As far as playing goes, Arya loves playing peekaboo. When I give her a blanket, shirt, or anything else that she can cover up with and say, "Where's Arya?" she pulls it over her face and then drops it down. I then say, "Peekaboo!" or "There she is!" and she thinks it is a really fun game. She'll repeat it over and over. Another version of this game that she plays is to go around the corner and then peek back into the room. She especially likes it if you hide too, and peek out to see her peeking at you.

Well, those are as many updates as I can give for now. At least I've been able to catch up a little bit. Arya is so full of life and such a happy little girl. She adds so much joy to our lives, and it is hard to believe that she has only been with us for 9 1/2 months. How time flies!