March 29, 2010

Kaylynn demonstrates how she puts on her coat...

Monday turned out to be a very long day. Kaylynn had a good day at school. They said, “Kaylynn had a really good day!! At group time we read the book The Night Before Easter. For art we decorated a cross with flower stickers. She had fun coloring & putting puzzles together. We played outside on the playground - Kaylynn liked swinging & sliding down the slide. Very smiley & happy. :) "

We had a dinner party to go to Monday night, and Kaylynn was invited, too. There were about a dozen adults and two 6 year old boys. This is a group of very close friends who have all heard about Kaylynn, so she was very warmly greeted. She was shy girl for a long time, which is to be expected. She didn’t want to sit in a high chair for dinner, and I didn’t push the issue - I let her sit on my lap. It was a very long dinner and she opened up after a while when the adults near her started to play with her. She wasn’t interested in playing with the other kids, most likely because they were in another room and she didn’t want to be away from Julian or me. We had brought finger puppets for her to play with, but of course she found other very interesting things. Fork & spoon make a nice noise when banged together. Crackers are crumbly when they meet fork tines. Origami frogs are fun to retrieve from under the table. And grown-ups do silly things to make little girls laugh.

Julian arrived a little later than I – he had to work late. We pre-arranged that he would take her home for bed, so we needed separate cars anyway. At one point during dinner, my leg started to feel unusually warm. Yup – she had peed through her diaper and not only onto me but onto the floor as well. Julian took her for a diaper & pants change – thank goodness we always pack a spare pair of pants! One of our hosts brought me some paper towels & cleaner for the floor and then went hunting for jeans that would fit me. Thank goodness she kept her pants from before she lost all that weight!

Kaylynn made it through the soup course – and LOVED the soup – but then she flopped back on me and looked like she was suddenly overwhelmingly tired. That was Julian’s cue to take her home. It was a little past her bedtime. She wanted to do a lot more things and protested a little about leaving, but he said she was really sweet & snuggly at home and went to sleep right away.

March 30, 2010

If you look closely, you can see the blue-chalk moustache. :)

At school, they said, "Kaylynn had a good day!! We enjoyed the beautiful weather outside & played on the playground. Kaylynn likes walking around to all the teachers & giving them fives :) We made sock bunnies for art & read the book Happy Easter. We also colored with markers, did bubbles & sang songs!"

She had a little bit of a snack after school, then some dinner, and then she & Julian, Murphy & Merlin went outside to play. She 'helped' Julian rake leaves (using her new toy rake) and delighted in rolling the chalk down the slide, though coloring with it just wasn't her thing (nor was sliding down the slide herself). Julian did some very nice chalk drawings, however :) She was in a really good mood and was chatty & giggly all evening. The loves to throw the ball for Murphy, and Murphy seems to know she should get excited to run 1 foot and pounce on the ball to make Kaylynn feel good. Kaylynn even came inside under her own power without protesting. She wanted something to eat. While sitting at the table, she picked up the bunny she made at school and pulled the felt "teeth" off. I asked why she did that. Julian answered for her, "because I'm 2." It was bath night and she had fun with her new toy, coloring on the side of the bathtub, on her toenails and on her face. At bedtime she pulled out a few of the 26 alphabet books she got for her birthday. They're really cute little books & we looked at O, Q, P and S. Then it was bedtime - a little whiny protest but it wasn't too sincere. She fell asleep quickly.

March 27-28, 2010

Saturday
Saturday started nice and early, as usual. It was clear Kaylynn was still not feeling well. Our first clue is always when she’s not interested in “nummies” right away. She was in a good mood but was fairly subdued – more interested in coloring (of course) and watching videos than playing with blocks or something like that. Final clue – the big bomb she dropped into her diaper, pajamas and sock. She was rewarded promptly with a bath. Poor baby had diarrhea big-time… Saturday was the 3rd day.

I had a few things to take care of out & about. While I was gone, a neighbor dropped off a plastic slide and a soccer-type net (small) for Kaylynn. I wanted was home by 3:15 so Kaylynn could get to her haircut appointment on time. It all worked out, but since I had groceries, someone had to stay home & put them away. Julian got stuck with that, while I had the pleasure of taking Kaylynn to get her hair cut. We got there in plenty of time, but she needed a diaper change. Right after diaper change and while I was taking advantage of the 1-seater, I heard something from Kaylynn’s general direction… yup, she had diarrhea in her new diaper. No longer new, I took it off & tossed it, replaced it, and on we went to the hair cut itself. We went to Kids’ Hair, where they know how to deal with kids really well. She was very upset to sit on the chair and the cartoons playing and fancy cape didn’t help much. She cried until she realized she wasn’t being hurt. She never did smile, but the stylist was really fast! We mostly wanted it trimmed & shaped, so not all that much came off. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of her major unhappiness.

When we got home, we had time to play outside on the slide, which Julian placed in the back yard. I think she went up, down & around 20 times before she needed another diaper. We came back outside, but she was more interested in seeing what else was in the yard since she last inspected it. Not much had changed…

She didn’t really eat much the whole day – we gave her crackers, apple sauce, some pedialyte popsicles and other relatively binding food. We decided to have a bonfire. Julian got it going and we came out to play. Julian showed her where we had a lot of dry brush to throw in that would catch quickly & make a fun flame. She walked all over the yard gathering stuff to throw in the fire. She was very respectful of it – she’s been around fires before. She was one very busy little toddler! At one point, she was sitting on one of our stumps and Willy & Merlin were behind her. Merlin was under the wood pile & tarp, and Willy was trying to play. Willy’s back was turned to Merlin and you could see Merlin dive out, nip at / scratch Willy, and run back in. Willy turned & jumped, which made me start to laugh really hard… and that made Kaylynn start to laugh, even though she didn’t know what we were laughing about. Of course, that made me laugh more.

At the end of the night, Kaylynn was wiped out. She went to sleep really quickly. We tried to get her thinking about her upcoming birthday party while she slept, but who knows what actually goes on in the mind of a toddler.

Sunday
Sunday was a nice, relaxing morning for Kaylynn and me. Julian needed to get up & gather stuff to bring to his parents’ house, where we were having a belated birthday party for Kaylynn. We didn’t need to be there until 10:30. Kaylynn asked for “nummies,” so I started slowly, giving her relatively “safe” foods for her tummy. Our pediatrician recommended yogurt and an acidophilus supplement to balance out her digestive system. It must have helped - the eating machine was back! We slowly started getting ready for the party. I cleaned up a little & she played with her baby. She got a car seat from a friend of mine and carried her baby all around in it, pretending to feed her & give her a nap. Then we started to get dressed. It was so nice to have some time to do things slowly in the morning, as opposed to the usual 45 minutes we get on school days. By the time she got dressed, hair was done & teeth were brushed, it was time to start toward the car. My target for leaving was 10, and I think we pulled out at 9:50. Sweet!

Melissa (mommy) and Devon (brother) were already there when we arrived. Kaylynn was really happy to see her mom. Soon Nicole (auntie) and Nick (uncle) arrived, followed by Tracey (gammy) and Al (gampy). All Kaylynn’s people were there and she seemed to be really happy about it. We had a fantastic brunch. Then we opened presents. Kaylynn got quite a lot of really fun gifts! She got stuff for coloring & art projects, a house-cleaning kit (vacuum that makes noise, brooms, mop, dustpan…), a baby bottle for feeding her babies (I think that was her favorite), a rocking horse and other fun things and an ATW – all terrain wagon. As soon as we can figure out a way to get her to sit & ride in it, we’ll be set for walks to the park and on hiking trails. An aside – we now have 3 strollers and a wagon, but she won’t ride in any of them… yet.

Melissa put her in her car seat and Kaylynn was sobbing really hard. She really loves her mom and has a hard time leaving her. She stopped crying as we were driving down the street. Then she fell asleep in the car on the way home to nap. I tried to keep her awake and then wake her up, but it was no use. She was out. She woke up and cried really hard, so I held her and rocked her a little, she calmed down and went into her crib for a nap. Julian came home & we unloaded. After nap, Melissa came over to pick Kaylynn up for an evening together. Because Kaylynn gets so upset when mom leaves, we invited Melissa to give her a bath and put her to bed. Kaylynn cried another heart-wrenching cry for a while and Melissa held her until she calmed down to just a regular ‘complaining about bedtime’ cry. Melissa had barely crossed the room to put on her jacket and Kaylynn had already fallen asleep. That little girl can definitely sooth herself.

March 25 - 26, 2010

On Thursday morning, it had been 2 full days since Kaylynn pooped. Julian was starting to get very worried. Thursday afternoon, when I arrived to pick her up, Kaylynn had had the biggest poop I've ever seen. It could not be contained by a mere diaper, but went down her legs, too. No worries - stuff is moving!

Tonight, a friend came over to help out, since Julian was working late. We took Kaylynn and the dogs out for a walk. It was a really cool day, though, so we couldn't stay out too long. She learned how to put her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. She is also successful more than not when trying to put her coat on herself. We have a new umbrella stroller and thought we could take it for a spin and give Kaylynn a ride. She definitely didn't like it. She liked pushing it herself & put her baby in it for a while, but didn't want to ride in it. It would be really helpful to get her used to a stroller so we could go on longer walks down to the park or shopping or something. She has done well in grocery carts, so we'll keep trying with the stroller.

Otherwise, it was a relatively routine day. Her school report said, "Kaylynn had a good day! During group time, we read the books It Looked Like Spilt Milk and First Day of Spring. We made coffee filter flowers for art. Mrs. Jean came for music. We sang spring songs. Kaylynn seems to like music - she likes to watch everyone sing. We played outside for a little bit."


Friday
Kaylynn didn't eat breakfast Friday morning, which was really unusual for her. She was crabby, but didn't have a fever and couldn't really tell me what was going on. When we got to school, she was completely fine and happy to be there. They called me around 1:15 to let me know that she had vomited immediately after lunch. She had fallen asleep for her nap right away, so I didn't go pick her up until after nap time.

Friday night she had at least 5 diarrhea diapers. We debated taking her to urgent care, but got in touch with our pediatrician instead who said to just keep her hydrated and it was probably a bog. Her mood was fine, though her energy was a little low. She didn't want to eat much and we didn't push it.

Here's what the school report said. "Kaylynn had a good day! For group time, we listened to the tape story The Rain Came Down. For art, we started making spring collages and made an umbrella with raindrops! Kaylynn had fun playing with the babies today!"

March 24, 2010

You put your left elbow in, you put your left elbow out, you put your left elbow in and you shake it all about....

Calling out a "happy 14th birthday" to our friend, Iain. Hope it was fun, with more fun yet to come.

We seem to have a routine now during the week - as routine as you can be with a toddler, anyway. I can make all the plans in the world, but her agenda comes through no matter what. You know - get up, eat breakfast, change diaper, get dressed, pack lunches, put on shoes & coat, out the door... except there's a request for more nummies, diaper cream, "I want to do it" expressions around getting dressed, desire for "uppy" when making lunch, walking the opposite way of the car when we get out the door. But we seem to always make it without a lot of fuss, and I seem to always catch my bus. And the first word she says when she walks in to daycare is "cowee" (color). Her report said, "Kaylynn had a good day! During group time, we read the book Duck! Rabbit! For art, we made "mud pies" out of special play-doh! Kaylynn had fun doing the Hokey Pokey and Ring Around the Rosie! We also spent plenty of time outside in the beautiful weather!"

Kaylynn & Julian were already working on dinner when I got home. Kaylynn and I danced around (including the Hokey Pokey - Dan Zanes' version) while Julian finished up. We sat down together for dinner and then got ready to go outside. She was stubbornly trying to put the zipper on her jacket together herself. After several minutes, I took the dogs out and she headed for the door, finally accepting help with the zipper so she could go out. She scribbled with chalk, threw the ball for Murphy, played with rocks, sat on the rocker, climbed stairs.

She was very potty-obsessed at bedtime. She sat on the big potty and then the little potty. She got her baby & put her on the potty. A quick diversion (thanks Julian!) got her in her room for bedtime.

March 23, 2010

Today was a pretty good day in the world of Kaylynn. She was excited to arrive at school to color, but instead of sitting right down, an older girl (maybe 4) started to engage her in some play. It was really adorable.

When I picked her up, they were outside playing. She was sitting in a toddler swing and, again, an older girl was pushing her. Different girl. Apparently the older kids love to push the little kids on swings and help them out with things. Her report for the day was, "Kaylynn had a good day - she sure is talking more & more, getting more words. At group time, we read 2 books - The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Playing in the Rain. We went "puddle" jumping using carpet squares and made a butterfly for art."

We stopped on the way home to pick up a humidifier for our bedroom, in hopes that it helps my coughing. I also grabbed some sidewalk chalk. She was very happy to carry it up to the front, put it on the counter, help me with the credit card machine and carry it out to the car. We had a lot to carry in when we got home. She started out with her lunch box and the chalk, but when she got to the stairs, she realized she needed a hand to hold the hand rail. So she walked all the way back to me to hand me the chalk, walked back to the stairs and started to climb.

Julian was ready with dinner when we walked in - thank goodness! She had a great helping of spaghetti with (turkey) meat sauce. We got her face & hands all cleaned up and she went outside with a piece of chalk. I showed her how it worked and she did a little coloring, but not a lot. There's way too much going on in the yard to be stuck in one place. We threw the ball for Murphy, sat in various places around the fire pit, pulled some weeds, and walked up and down the stairs several times. She is certainly looking more adventurous, too, getting her toddler bumps and bruises. I think a couple of the scratches on her face are from her finger nails. She has some bruises from playing on the playground over the weekend. This afternoon she slipped on one of the stairs and now has a little scrape on her back. She cried for a little bit but then was back to climbing the steps again. She's quite the trooper. She also practiced some jumping.

It was a bath night, so after a little snack, into the tub she went. She had a lovely bath and was on & off the potty a few times, but didn't produce, of course. We had our usual bedtime routine and she dropped off relatively quickly after lots of hugs and kisses.

March 22, 2010

I usually start at the beginning of the day, but the end of the day was so fantastic, I have to start there. After brushing her teeth (she was just in her diaper), Kaylynn opened the potty and asked to sit on the big girl potty. So I took her diaper off. She hung out there for a little bit, and 2 farts later, she pooped - right there in the potty! Just like that! I knew she had to go because of the way she was (or wasn't) walking around the bathroom, but I had no idea she'd produce in the potty. How exciting is that?!

That little girl sure was tired out this morning. I opened the door so she could hear the household noises. She didn't budget. I turned lights on in the hallway and bathroom - nothing. I opened her blinds. Nada. It wasn't until about 10 minutes after I opened the blinds that she woke up and said "hi!" It was 7:10 - over 30 minutes later than usual.

Her school report said, "Kaylynn had a great day! During grouptime, we did puzzles and listened to tape stories. For art, we each got our own egg cartons and planted wildflowers in them. We will keep them here until they start to grow! Kaylynn had fun playing in the sandbox outside today!" When I got home, she was having a snack and was in a pretty good mood. She had chicken & peas for dinner - lots of it! She must be in a growth spurt.

She and I ran a few errands. We borrowed a stroller from some friends and then went to the store to get me some cough syrup. Trying to let Kaylynn be helpful (and avoiding a meltdown), I let her hold the bag. I told her it was heavy - it was too heavy and she dropped it. It didn't occur to me until we got home that the cough syrup bottle was glass. So much for that endeavor. Julian said my cough is the wrong kind for that medicine anyway. Lesson learned - I'm the adult, she's the child, and she can have a fit if I decide something is too heavy for her to hold.

She had a few pieces of oatmeal cereal before bed. She couldn't really settle on a book to read, though she did pull many off of her shelf. She took a little longer to settle down, but, of course, she did.