March 2, 2010

Savta got Kaylynn up this morning around 7:15 to get ready for school. She was dressed in a pretty purple outfit and pigtails - yay Savta! I decided to go with them, so up I got and away we went. She was into puzzles again as we left.

Julian picked her up at school and she came home (pigtails intact)all smiles and ready to eat. Julian thought she looked like Pipi Longstocking. Her report today said, "Kaylynn had an awesome day :) She liked giving her friends hugs & her teachers 'fives.' We read the book "Yertle the Turtle" and colored a picture for art. She loves coloring just as much as she loves to paint. We also listened to tape stories, played with the colored pegs & outside on the playground."

She had some fruit for a snack and Savta and Julian set about the business of getting dinner together. We ate as a family - one dinner! She must be growing, because she ate quite a few bites of pizza, pasta, fish and beans. She ran around playing all over the place, especially carrying her "piano" and taking the legs off & putting them back on again. She and Julian had giggle fits on the couch pretending she was a baby and he was burping her.

She was ready for bedtime and tucked her "dolly, Llama" in. I think Julian read 2 or 3 books and we sang her songs. She seems to like having a conversation with herself for a while before dozing off. Tonight it was a long round of "up... down... up... down..." you get the picture. And suddenly, silence as she drifts off to sleep.

February 27 - March 1

So, it's been a few days since I've been awake enough after Kaylynn's bedtime to blog. Considering I slept a good chunk of today away in and after surgery, I thought I'd try to catch up.

Saturday started out as pajama day. We all had breakfast and played around the house. She discovered my Shrek slippers and enjoyed wearing those for a bit. I am having trouble remembering some of the fun stuff we did. Apologies to Kaylynn's followers for that. I know that she got her PJs all dirty with lunch and we changed her into real clothes after nap, and I remember that during nap time I got to walk the dogs outside in the beautiful weather while Julian stayed home with Kaylynn. I also paid bills & generally cleaned up my desk for my mom's visit and went to a thrift shop to pick up some costumes for us for the fundraiser at Shir Tikvah later Saturday night. She & Julian played bouncy-ball and she squeezed his cheeks and kissed his lips. He'd wipe his mouth, which made her laugh and do it again. Teething, drool... Julian's favorite.

At 5 pm, Nicole and Nick came over to babysit. That was a big hit with Kaylynn, who loves her Auntie Nikki. (She's warming up to Uncle Nick :) ) She had a relatively early dinner and I know they played hard but we left around 6:20 to go to the fundraiser (which was fun and lucrative for some). Nana and Papi should have fun shopping for supplies for their 5th wheel kitchen.

Sunday morning, I was the morning person, so I got her up and changed diaper & got her dressed. We had some breakfast and continued to do our laundry. She bounced on her ball and played with her "piano" (a bunch of buttons that are musical and light up when pushed). Julian got to sleep in a little bit. We took turns getting ready for for our days while trying to feed this little girl's voracious appetite. My goodness she's in an eating mood! I decided to go to yoga because I thought it would be good for my surgery to be mellow. Julian and Kaylynn picked up Mom at the airport. She fell asleep in the car looking like a turtle with her head tucked down in her coat and ended up having about a 45 minute nap. She hates the sun in her eyes, so the coat worked perfectly. So, not much nap for her when they got home. She took to my mom ("Savta," which is Hebrew for "grandma") and they were a blast to watch play. We started singing her the BINGO song, with KAY-L-Y-N-N in place of B-I-N-G-O. My mom also wrote her name on the magnadoodle and said the letters aloud. Kaylynn repeated each letter after Savta. I clearly haven't given Kaylynn enough credit for how smart she is and how ready to learn she is. While they were playing, Kaylynn picked up my mom's painted fingernails and pointed and said "owie."

Julian went grocery shopping and, among other things, brought home some washable markers. Kaylynn pulled the cap off, drew with one, put it back on (Savta taught her how to do it correctly -ridge side down - so she wouldn't struggle so much) and actually put it back in the package the "correct" way. As we called out the colors and she repeated them back. Of course, there were several similar colors, so we had to give them names like "grass green" and "chartreuse." Five of the markers smell and she ended up with lots of marker all over her face and hands. She painted her fingernails with markers, too. Recommendation: if you let her play with markers, make certain they're washable! Should have taken a picture. She LOVES coloring... big time!

It was bath night and Savta & I took bath duty. Kaylynn is clearly afraid of water on her head & in her face, so we had her wash our hair and we rinsed hers without soap. It was much easier for her. Nite-nite was pretty easy for all of us. Book ("happy and you know it") and songs and out she went.

Savta commented about how fantastic Kaylynn's manual dexterity is. We have a cat toy that goes together with thin sticks in small holes and she's able to do it. She can put the caps on the skinny markers correctly. She has a box with shapes in it and it's hard to open. She couldn't get it open herself and started looking for a button to push to pop it. Now, there is no button, but it's really cool that she looked!

Monday was surgery day for me. Julian took me to the hospital and Savta stayed home with the monitor and Kaylynn. They got up and were ready to go to school when Julian got home. After her go-gurt, she wasn't happy to have her hands wiped, so Savta taught her "piggies" on her hands. This little piggy... She loved it! When they left her at school, she was playing with big Lego blocks and puzzles. Julian picked her up after I got home.

When Julian put her in her car seat, she was saying "gammy gammy gammy" so Julian called up grandma Tracey so they could chat a bit. She repeated after Julian and said "school, nummies, play, pretty."

When she got home she had a snack, played with her baby, carried the Merlin-kitty look-alike toy around and put it in several places. Then she found Merlin in his hiding place and said "kee hide." She had a couple dinners, a few ramekins of apple sauce, and a rice krispy square. Her 2nd dinner was a spicy beef stew that our friend, Saren, had made. She asked for "bite" and I didn't think she'd like it so I just gave her a taste of sauce. She asked for about 30 more bites. She had greens, parsnips, carrots and beef and LOVED it. Video attached. Then she saw "kee" and took off to try to touch him. So, for lunch tomorrow, I'm sharing my beef stew. Thank you, Saren! I'm glad there's enough for both of us.

She loves brushing her teeth and pulls the step stool over to the sink herself. When she's done, she puts it back. Savta was impressed :)

When she got her last diaper change, she was holding her "happy an-u-no-it" book in her hands. She turned to the last page and said "sleepy an-u-no-it..." and that was the right page.

So, she's finally conquered Murphy's name... sorta... Murphy is now "Mercy." Murphy actually responds to it, even though Kaylynn has grabbed on to a handful of hair in the past. She knows Wee, Mercy, Yudie... Julian said she's calling me "Weedy." Merlin is just plain "kee." Savta has yet to be named.

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...