Katara and Aang were still in awe of their little girl Aria two days after her birth. They spent most of their time inside their home at the Eastern Air Temple not wanting to spend any time away from her. When it was mealtime, they simply went to the dining area, said 'hi' to the other residents of the temple, and hurried back to their place.
Katara got the hang of feeding Aria quickly. Aria had no trouble at all latching on to Katara's breast any time she wanted a meal. Katara would then lift Aria up to her shoulder and burp her. On one particular occasion, as babies often do, Aria spit up.
Katara grabbed a wet towel and started cleaning up the mess on her shoulder and on the floor.
"Ewww," said Aang. Having thought a few more seconds, he then asked, "She's not sick, is she?"
"Aang, you have a lot to learn about babies," replied Katara. "Babies spit up quite a bit after being fed. They might drink too fast – or just a little too much. Their systems aren't as developed as ours are."
"Oh," said Aang, scratching the back of his neck. "I guess I really haven't spent much time around babies. The babies were kept with the nuns until they were old enough to go to their respective temples."
"You'll learn. It's not hard," said Katara. "But there are some unpleasant things about having a newborn as well."
"I already know she doesn't sleep when we do. Now I know about the spit up. What else is there?" asked Aang.
"Come with me," said Katara as she walked back into the bedroom.
Katara put a towel on the bed and unwrapped the blanket from around Aria's body leaving her nearly naked. She untied either side of the diaper and let it fall open. Needless to say, it was full.
"Ok, Aang, your turn," said Katara with a smile on her face.
"Um…ok," he said to her not really knowing where to start.
When Aang didn't move, Katara decided a demonstration was in order. "It's pretty simple actually. You get some wet cloths and just wipe her down. Make sure you wipe front to back or else she might get an infection."
Aang repeated as if he were taking mental notes, "Front to back, ok."
"Dry her off with another cloth. Its important that she is dry - wetness leads to rashes. Then place a fresh diaper on." Katara grabbed a new diaper from a stack she had on the dresser. She grabbed Aria's feet and lifted her butt off the bed and slid the new diaper underneath. She tied the two ties located near Aria's hips. "There, all done."
"And what do you do with that?" Aang motioned towards the dirty diaper.
"Laundry," said Katara. "If it is just wet, just place in this bag. If there is more than that in there, well, you'll have to…uh, dispose of that properly. Haruko has offered to help us with the diapers."
"She really is like the mother of everyone at the Eastern Air Temple, isn't she," remarked Aang.
"Thankfully, yes. And the title fits her well," said Katara.
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As time passed, Aang and Katara got more and more comfortable taking Aria out of their home. As much as Aang loved to take naps with her and play with her, he also had to keep in mind that he had six airbenders waiting for him to train them.
Aang left to grab a bite to eat before training early one morning. Katara decided to take Aria on a walk around the temple. She wrapped her up in blankets and headed towards the stables where Appa and Momo were. Although Momo was free to stay with them whenever he wanted, he often chose to keep Appa company instead.
Katara walked up to Appa and introduced him to Aria.
"Appa, this is Aang's daughter," Katara said.
Appa ever so gently nudged the blanket where Aria was sleeping. He let out a very soft grunt.
Momo climbed up onto Katara's shoulders and peered down at the little one. He chattered as if talking to the waterbender.
"I know Momo, she's adorable, isn't she?" Katara answered. "I'm going to show her what her Daddy is doing with the airbenders today."
Katara left the stable and headed towards the training grounds. Aang's class hadn't quite started yet. Katara looked over and saw Aang busy talking with Youfeng. Some of the airbenders were stretching; others were performing simple moves to get warmed up.
Kanpu was the first to catch site of Katara standing on the side of the training grounds. "Katara!" he shouted as he ran to her.
"Hello Kanpu, how is training coming along?" she asked the eight-year old.
"It's great!" said Kanpu. "I'm really getting the hang of the air scooter."
"That's great!" replied Katara. "You'll be winning at scooter tag before you know it."
"Can I see the baby, Katara?" asked Kanpu.
"Sure," said Katara as she found a nearby bench and sat down. Aria was now awake and had the usual surprised-baby look on her face. Kanpu scooted next to her so he could get a good look at Aria.
Aang looked over and saw what was going on and smiled before refocusing on his conversation with Youfeng.
"Aria, look what I can do," Kanpu said to the baby. He pulled out a marble and did Aang's signature marble trick, one of the first things he learned how to master since he's been at the Eastern Air Temple.
Aria's face beamed with a gigantic smile.
"Kanpu!" Katara said. "That's the first time I've ever seen her smile."
"Wow! I made her smile," said Kanpu.
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As time ticked away, little Aria hit her regular baby milestones. She slowly got stronger and gained the ability to hold her head up by the time she was three months old.
In her fifth month, her first two teeth started to come in. Aang thought he was going to go crazy from Aria's excessive crankiness before Katara showed him what good a frozen rag in the mouth could do for the situation.
It was soon after that when Aria started sitting on her own.
"They grow up so fast," remarked Aang to Katara one day. "It seems like she was just born. Before we know it, she'll be running around and talking in full sentences."
The other residents of the Eastern Air Temple grew to love Aria. Aang and Katara felt guilty at first when they finally decided that they needed a night alone together. Who would watch their precious daughter? They shouldn't have worried because once they had asked Haruko (who did agree to watch her), three other families had approached the Avatar offering their babysitting services any time he and Katara needed them.
Aria caught her first cold when she was around eleven months old. Katara wasn't too worried, but she could tell that Aang didn't like to see his daughter in any distress at all. Her little nose crusted up and she sneezed and coughed all the time over the course of about a week. But over time, she got over that, too.
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Aang and Katara had decided to eat dinner in their home one evening. While Aang ran down to the dining area to pick up the food for the family, Katara prepared a few placemats and dishes for the food in their living room.
Aang walked back in the door. "Katara, where's Aria?" he asked.
"She's right - ," Katara started. "Spirits, Aang, she was just there a minute ago."
Aang, in a panic, raced to his bedroom. She was in there, standing, holding onto the bed.
"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" Aang said as he playfully scooped her up into his arms.
Katara came in behind him. "How did she get in here?" she asked.
"I'm not sure, but she was standing up against the bed when I found her," said Aang.
"She's standing now?" repeated Katara.
"She sure is," said Aang.
"Aang, there's no way she could have…," started Katara.
"We won't know if she's an airbender until she's at least two," said Aang. "It definitely wasn't bending."
"Mama!" said Aria, who then held out her arms for Katara.
Aang turned to look at his daughter with a huge smile on his face and wide eyes.
"Katara, she is asking for you," said Aang.
Katara lifted her daughter out of Aang's arms. "Well, little girl…it seems you are talking now. Do you have any other surprises for us?"
The next morning, Aang awoke to find his daughter standing by his side of the bed…again.
"Katara?" Aang said.
"Hmmm?" she answered, still half-asleep.
"We have a visitor," said Aang.
"What?" asked Katara, who then rolled over and looked over the edge of the bed. "How did she get there?"
Aria smiled and plopped back down on the floor. She took off on all fours out the bedroom door.
"Well, that answers that!" said Aang.