Aliya is so much fun. I mean, not much else is expected in Team Hokama, but really, we have a blast with her. It hasn’t just been go-go-go since she started walking July 1, it’s been a blossoming of her little personality and her amazing sense of humor too.
She loves to dance. Yes, the girl has the dancin’ gene. It’s that adorable, kind of stiff, knees slightly bent, bouncing baby dance, and she’ll often put both arms in the air and bounce them too. One of the newest things she’s been doing too, mostly while sitting at the table in her highchair, is this cute little swaying motion to ballads or classical music, showing off her lyrical sense. Aliya also has this other new move where she’ll squat down, bend at the waist, shake her arm side to side, all while displaying the hammiest, squinty grin you’ve ever seen. The other day she walked right into the kitchen where Iana was, bent down, boogied down, and walked away. Perfect timing and Iana just had to laugh out loud. What a show off.
She’s a perpetual, earthly satellite. She orbits round and round the house, picking things up, checking in on her people, dropping things off, and on and on and on. Occasionally she’ll even work up to almost a trot, especially when her sisters chase her or she’s captured some treasure from them and tries to make a “run” for it. Her balance is still a little nerve-wracking, but mostly, she’s quite stable.
Aliya is a water girl. She loves to be in the spray of the hose, and often orbits around the yard, transporting water from one location to another in whatever tiny vessel she can find. Often she dumps half of it down her front while scooping and doesn’t flinch—she just rolls on. And when she takes a bath, and she thinks you’re going to pour the water over her head, she puckers her lips and begins taking quick breaths to prepare. She doesn’t really mind the water pouring down her face, though she does seem a bit surprised at first, but she never fusses. I wonder if this will last? Keana was like this too I think, tolerating water on the face, but Maia, oh no.
Aliya just loves to connect with people. She’ll wave at you, hello or goodbye, and if she doesn’t smile at first, she keeps her eyes in contact with yours until she’s got her assessment. She’s cuddly and she’s so solid and squishy at the same time, it is the best to give her a little squeeze or just hold her. She’s also recently started flirting by turning her head so her chin touches her shoulder, tilting slightly down, and giving the sweetest smile you’ve ever seen.
As far as language goes, Aliya has been trying out different syllables and sounds, still saying “mama” and “papa” and “bye-bye”, and enjoys call and response, especially in the car when she can’t see you. She’ll call out “maaaa-maaaa” and we call back “aliiii-yaaaa” or “baaaa-beeee”. So sweet.
There are just so many things that she’s adjusting to and figuring out, making day-to-day things so much easier (not that they were ever really that hard with her). Everything from getting dressed to getting in her car seat to communicating what she wants to eat. I was really impressed tonight when I was taking her jumper suit thing off for bath, and she stepped out of it, one foot at a time, like a real pro. She still does several big nods “yes” when she wants something or is doing something she likes to do, and shakes her hands in refusal in front of her when she’s done with something or doesn’t want it. She’s been squealing more and more with joy and disappointment (usually when here sisters steal something from her), and she’s definitely been showing that she’s not going to let her place in the line-up go unnoticed.
