February 26, 2010

Happy 40th birthday, Daniel! I can't believe my baby brother is 40. The big four-oh. That's a big deal.

Anyway, on to Kaylynn's day. I took her to school today, so we needed to leave by 6:50 to get there in time for me to catch my bus. I got up at 5:30 to get ready ahead of her. She had gone to bed a little early the night before, so getting up didn't seem to be a problem. She woke up around 6:20. Perfect! Diaper change, clothes on, go-gurt and on her way. I missed my bus, though.

She was happy to be at school and seems really comfortable there. They reported that she ate some breakfast, didn't have a poopy diaper, ate some lunch, napped for over an hour, and generally had a good day. At one point a little boy was sitting on a chair crying and she went over to him and said "hug hug hug" and then gave him a hug. How sweet is that? She also settled down with another little girl for some story time. Here's the official report from day care. "Kaylynn had a great day! During group time, we listened to tape stories and read books. For art, we colored our own Olympic medals and got our picture taken by the flag. We also had ice cream to celebrate Jackson's birthday and played outside in the beautiful weather."

She was happy to see me when I picked her up, which was nice. We came home and had a quick dinner and got ready for services, which were at 6:30 tonight and were special for Purim - a dress-up holiday that has a fun service. There are toys there for kids to play with and she had fun with hers. She more or less clung to me the whole time. I think whoever gets her out of her crib in the morning is "it" for the day. Anyway, she seemed to be taking in everything that was going on around her. There was a lot going on, but she got into the groove of it all and danced a little during songs. Her teeth were still bothering her, but after the service she really enjoyed running around and watching what the other kids were doing. So she wasn't excited to go home, but it was getting late, so home we came!

Diaper change, PJs, brushing teeth and running around capped off the evening. I settled down with Llama on my lap & Kaylynn climbed up. We had 3 books and then everyone got tucked in and sung to. She didn't fuss at all about going to bed, so I think she was pretty worn out.

Julian and I decided we had to have code words for certain things. The first one was that cookies are referred to as "the big C."

February 25, 2010

Well, the teething goes on. We could tell Kaylynn wasn't feeling her best. She was happy (and she knew it... clapped her hands... wait... never mind) but she had big moments of whining. Thank goodness for Ora-Gel.

She was very excited to see her new baby when she woke up this morning. Baby was courtesy of Julian's co-worker. She pulled her bee around for a while, but what held her attention the most was coloring. She loves that magnadoodle. Julian was home with her all day. They ran around the basement and played with balls. She ate well and napped for 2 hours.

When I got home, we had a few things to take care of. She helped me with laundry and we picked up some of her toys so it wasn't such an obstacle course. We took the dogs outside and threw snowballs for Murphy to fetch. (She caught one mid-air - good dog!) Kaylynn wouldn't keep her mittens on and her hands were getting cold, so we had to come back in. She *really* didn't want to come back in, but there was no reasoning with her to keep the mittens on. We had been out for 15 minutes or so, which I think is enough for a cool winter day. And besides, I couldn't find her boots so she couldn't be out too long.

When I was getting ready to make dinner, I pulled out green beans from the freezer. I decided to see if she wanted to chew on a frozen one, thinking it might help her teeth feel better. She did and it helped, but when I offered them a little later she wasn't interested. She wasn't too interested in the green beans I heated and served, so I gave her peas. I also gave her a taste of BBQ sauce but she didn't love it.

After dinner and clean up we put laundry in the drier & played with the bouncy balls again. She settled in on my lap, pulled her socks off, pulled my socks off, and played with her magnadoodle for a bit. Then she put her socks on her hands, which is something she seems to like to do a lot.

She was OK with having her diaper changed but was sad to see her PJs come out. She put them on anyway, brushed teeth and greeted Julian (and the new ball he got her) when he came home. She wasn't too interested in going to sleep and I did want her to go in early so she could get up early to go to school with me in the morning. I need to get her there around 7 to get myself to work on time. So, I put Llama on my lap and read her a book while Julian cradled Kaylynn. We tucked Llama in and gave kisses and hugs. Then we sang to Kaylynn and she was ready to settle down and sleep. I think she drifted off really quickly.

BTW we are SO happy to have the baby monitor. We haven't been able to use our sound machine because we wouldn't have been able to hear her. No worries now.

Anyone know all the words to Ba-ba black sheep?

February 24, 2010

I left the house before Kaylynn woke up at around 7:15 or so. Julian got her up & dressed, gave her juice and took her to school. They give her breakfast there, which is really fun for the kids - they all get to eat together. She was a little quiet when she first got there but she started playing soon enough.

I picked her up and she showed me her picture (she had "colored" the Olympic rings with black & red scribbles). She apparently wanted to keep her picture at school. She was in a different room than where her cubby is, so I had her take me to the other room and we gathered up her stuff. She had a "horse" (zebra) toy that she gladly handed over to the staff (whose name I didn't catch). She had made a snowboarder (picture attached) and I guess they all put tissue boxes on their feet and pretended to speed-skate. With the winter Olympics going on, it's nice that the school integrates what's going on in the world into their curriculum. They reported that her nap was good and it was too cold to go outside & play today. She also had a poopy diaper after nap, which made Julian very happy.

We got home, got the dogs outside and started to get settled. A couple friends, Saber and Saren, came over for a visit and helped a lot getting dinner ready and entertaining her while I got myself ready for - yes - another meeting at Shir Tikvah. Julian got home just before I left. She ate 1/2 chicken breast and some green beans.

So, the rest of the night is as reported to me by Julian. He gave her a bath and she really really didn't want her hair washed. He had her help with the washcloth but it wasn't her favorite bath experience. After she had her hair washed, she stood up in the bathtub and peed, thinking that it was very funny. Julian thought - at least it wasn't on the floor like the last time. After her bath she brushed her teeth. She's still teething, so he gave her some children's Motrin. She drank 1/2 of it and didn't want the rest. They sat together on the kitchen chair until she took it. Again, not her very favorite moment, but she really needed it.

Julian put her to bed and they tucked in her dolly, Llama, which seems to help her get ready to sleep. She was a tired girl!

A couple of Julian's co-workers gave him some very sweet gifts - some clothing and a baby doll. It was awfully thoughtful and generous.

Tomorrow Julian & Kaylynn hang out all day, and then it's back to school on Friday.

February 23, 2010

For the last 2 days I've been in New York City interviewing rabbis and cantors and educators - oh my! Kaylynn stayed with Grandma and Grandpa from Sunday evening to tonight. Julian (one "n" everyone) had dinner with Kaylynn's Grandma & Grandpa (Tracey & Al) and Kaylynn's "old grandma" and "old grandpa" (Pam & Jerry). Apparently they're not loving the "old" grandma & grandpa title... how about Nana and Papi? Just a thought. Anyway, she gave Julian a big smile when she saw him, which is so nice!

So, they had Chinese food. Kaylynn apparently loves Lo Mein. Al thought she was slurping it and running it right down her throat. Then he noticed that she slurps a little, chews a little & swallows, slurps some more and chews, etc. Sounds very sweet. Kaylynn sat at the table quite a bit of the time, but a few times she needed to go "down" (which she finally differentiates from "up" depending on her location). She colored with crayons. For a while she was saying something that sounded like "shut up" but Tracey figured out she was saying "Shadow" (Pam & Jerry's dog). After the meeting, she gave everyone kisses and hugs. She was a little fussy getting into the car, but was waving to Grandpa & Grandma and saying "bye."

On the way home, she was a little fussy (it was late , she was over-tired) so Julian sang to her just about non-stop. It's about a 30 minute drive. After the 30th round of "if you're happy and you know it..." he just had to switch to "Old MacDonald." She picked up on the e-i-e-i-o but it was more like "e-i-o" all run together.

When they got home, she was greeted with a big kiss from Willy. She said "shoo-shoo wee" and grabbed onto his snout. She had a smile on her face the whole time. We're thinking that's her first "full" sentence. Anyone else know of one before this?

It was late and Julian got her to bed relatively quickly. She did notice her new toys (thank you Nana and Papi) right away and set about playing with them. She was disappointed when Julian had to get her to bed. He took out her dolly, Llama, and put her on the changing table next to the crib, said 'night night' to her and covered her up with a blanket. Then Kaylynn said, "night night baby" and then "kees" (kiss). Another sentence! She talked to herself for a couple minutes and then went to sleep. I missed seeing her by about 15 minutes or so. I'm looking forward to some time with her tomorrow after school (a.k.a."happy happy fun place").

February 21, 2010

Kaylynn was up nice & early this morning, as usual. I had to leave the house at 8:45 so we set about our business of getting breakfast pretty quickly. She was all about the banana and had a little bit of cereal and, of course, her milk. When I left, Julian took over. They played with the balls downstairs and she was a big help with laundry, putting it in the washer (or the sink... wherever it landed). She likes to put a rubber band on her wrist and she calls it an "owie." She must have snapped herself at some point. Her love of the dogs extends to kissing Willy's foot this morning and giving Murphy 'huks.'

She seems to be teething, judging from the amount of drool (according to great-grandma and grandma - we're new at this). She was a little more sedentary than usual, asking to watch Barney. The picture, attached, is of her sitting in her Shrek chair, eating a fruit roll-up and mellowing out.

She was happy to see grandma today when Julian took her over to drop her off. Apparently the teething exhausted her. I hear she fell asleep on grandpa's lap around 5! Here's hoping she sleeps through the night!

She's at grandma & grandpa's for a couple days and I'm off to New York. No more posts until then...

February 20, 2010

So, you'd think I have all the time in the world to write this. After all, she naps for 2 hours and Julian was working all night... but time was not on my side tonight.

We got a crib today, which meant Julian really had to clear out his room. We got all the furniture moved and everything else boxed up. The co-worker of mine who brought the crib over also brought her 3- and 8-year old. They chased each other and the dogs and Kaylynn all over the place. Fun had by all. Giggles galore.

I took Kaylynn to Costco to do some much needed shopping. I picked up all sorts of snacks, some storage solutions, and who knows what else I was so tired when I got back I could barely schlep it up the stairs & put it all away. She ate her way through Costco and was really patient with it all. She ate a little piece of pound cake, talapia, a couple pieces of garlic chicken (which I bought because she loved it so much), a small piece of pizza and a bit of a granola bar (chewy). I picked up a "Cars" book for her so she had something to play with in the cart. It has buttons & makes noise, and you can play with it through the plastic. She took the price tag off so I put it on my shirt so I wouldn't lose it. All through the store I cost $6.99. Yes, that's probably too much :)

We got home & she ate quite a bit more. I had bought dried fruit and she ate a little package of apples (quite a bit for a little tummy) and a few animal cookies. Off to nap... really late - it was after 2. It was her first time in her new crib so she took a while to settle down. I stopped hearing her chatter close to 2:30, when I put the phone down and took my own nap. At 4:30 I checked on her and she seemed to be still sleeping - laying down - but she opened her eyes and said 'hi!' So up she went and directly to our 'new' changing table where her poopy diaper was promptly changed.

It was closing in on dinner time so I started to make something. Julian had some leftover supreme pizza. I cut some of it up - she loved it! - and also made some chicken nuggets. I cooked up a veggie medley. Even with butter, she was unimpressed with the broccoli. Lesson learned - don't put everything in the same bowl because if she doesn't like one thing, she won't try anything else in that bowl. So, I ate her veggies as well as my own. Ya know, if you cook cauliflower long enough, it doesn't taste so bad.

We played a little, danced and then read books around 8:15. She wasn't quite wound down yet, but I was! I sang to her (ABC song probably 10 times) and 6 kisses later she went to sleep and I started to work on the house. Put shoes away, print resumes (for upcoming interviews with prospective Educators at the synagogue... had lots of printer / computer problems so it took a lon time), wash dishes, change sheets... And that brings me to the present moment - Julian should be home from work soon. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Kaylynn "stomping her feet" - February 19, 2010