Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

how you hurt when you fall on me!!! ha ha ha ha

Kaitlyn got attacked by our Christmas tree last night and it's only a 3ft tree!!! Our kitty Totoro was trying to climb up in the tree thinking we might have to call the fire department to get him out or something... and Kaitlyn was standing there in front of the tree watching him and playing with ornaments. I, of course, yelled at the cat to get out of the tree because he might knock it down... I then walked into the kitchen to finish what I was doing and not 2 seconds later I hear Jon yell from the other room, "There it goes!" It took me a few seconds to realize what he was talking about and then Kaitlyn started screaming. I'm not sure whose fault it was, the cats or Kaitlyns (she yanks the ornaments off the tree) but I do know it must have scared the crap out of both of them! Kaitlyn was ok after a minute but she got scratches all over her face and hands (Thank God she didn't get poked in the eye!).

Anyway, this was one of those times you wish you had a video camera going constantly to catch funny things that happen... we might have just gotten into the finals of America's Funniest Home Videos with that one! The tree is fine and only 1 ornament got broken. It was one of mine and Jon's (our first married Christmas) but it's not bad and I can glue it back together, no problem. So, we got the tree back up and straightened back out and told them BOTH to leave the tree alone! I'm sure Kaitlyn will be right back at it the next time we are downstairs at Grandma Lois'. We put the tree down there again this year so there is plenty of room for it and presents.

Man... I wish we would've gotten that on video...

Well, the EIP Speech Therapist was only here for the evaluation for an hour and since then we have been working with K just to try to get her to form her mouth to make the "O" shape/sound. Well she has been great and is REALLY REALLY trying so hard to form her mouth to make sounds and words... most of the time nothing comes out but it's a work in progress and hopefully we get approved for the Speech Therapy because she would benefit so much from it. This proves it!

Last night K was in the bath and she was splashing around as usual drowning the bathroom and playing with her toys. She took two of her little ducks and flipped them over the side of the tub on to the rug and I said "Ut oh, did you lose your duckies?" and she looked at me and made the "O" shape with her mouth and said "oh-ohh," kinda... she actually made the "oh" sound and almost got out the "Ut-oh." I screamed and praised her so much and kept getting her to try it over and over... it was adorable!!! I cant wait to hear her talk!!!

Certainly NOT a Baby Anymore

Kaitlyn is now a toddler which leaves me little time to be on the computer or to be updating my blog! Needless to say this will be a short and to the point update!

Kaitlyn is now 18 months old and she is 32" tall, weighs 21lbs 3oz and her head circumference is 46cm. She should definitely weigh more but she has actually been sick with a mean nasty cold for over a month now and she stopped eating for about 3 weeks totally. We've been slowly relearning how to eat here and chew. She started swallowing any food she managed to put in her mouth whole instead of chewing it. Thats a whole other post though and if I get a chance to get into it, I will.

Since just before turning 18 months Kaitlyn has begun having real melt-downs and full blown throwing herself on the floor screaming tantrums. We totally ignore her and act like she isnt there when she does this because most of the time it is for no reason. If there is a reason, I try to kneel down and look her in the eye and talk to her and tell her why she can't have/do something. I know she doesnt understand most of what I am telling her but I want us both to get in the habit of talking things out. So if she throws herself on the floor screaming like she did last night for a half an hour just because I will not pick her up, then she will be ignored!

Kaitlyn is still not talking and so we have begun the Early Intervention Program (EIP) evaluations to see if she qualifies to receive some Speech Therapy. The Speech Therapist came this morning to meet with us and to evalute Kaitlyn and it went fairly well. The problem with this whole process is that Kaitlyn is very smart and has above average comprehension skills that overall when you add the two scores together having a high comprehension score can disqualify a child who may actually need some help in communication. Jon says it's kinda like a baby SAT where you can stink at the reading part but still score a 1200 because you are a genius in math. However, in order to get Kaitlyn the help she needs (and that the therapist said she would truely benefit from) she needs to score on a lower threshhold. So now Kaitlyn has to be evaluated by the Special Education teacher and then both of the evaluators will send their reports into the County Coordinator and we will see if she will qualify.

Other than all that Kaitlyn is becoming quite the comedian. She has one heck of a sense of humor! For example, last night she had something she shouldnt have and I asked her to give it to mommy, please. She held it out and walked closer to me as if she was going to just hand it right over... well just as I reached for it she pulled it back real fast and busted out laughing! She really was cracking herself up, the little jokester! She has a wonderful laugh and finds herself and many other things very funny.

Ok I will try to update more often if I can but we have a lot going on. I will definitely get here to update after Christmas!! That should be fun and I will update with some pictures too!!

Quick Update

Ok I know it has been FOREVER since I have written in Kaitlyn's journal. I hope to get back to it and keep up on it. I'd like to at least post here once a month on how things are going.

Since I last wrote Kaitlyn has been off her Zantac and doing very well. For about a month after she was puking a little bit up here and there but otherwise doing great. Her reflux seems to be under control but I do not dare say she has grown out of it yet, simply because when she gets sick she still gets reflux flares.

We also went to the Infant Reflux Disease convention in Cleveland, OH and had a wonderful time. It was amazing to meet all of the families I have been talking to for over a year. The kids were great too! It was so nice to be around a bunch of people who totally understood what we have been through on this roller coaster ride. While we were there, Kaitlyn ended up picking up a bug and was sick for about two and a half weeks after.

After the convention Jon, Kaitlyn and I went to a Cleveland Indians game at Jacob's Field and it was a wonderful experience and a great game!!! We left from there and headed up to Michigan to see my family. We had a great time in Michigan and Kaitlyn loved spending time with "Papa Paul in Michigan" and Grandma Debbie & Papa Reese. She was VERY afraid of my mom's two big labs but, of course, the day before we left she got more comfortable with them.

Since coming back from Michigan, we were dealing with Kaitlyn and I both being sick (I ended up sick too!) and trying to get our house fully unpacked and cleaned and organized. We rearranged our room and decided to get Kaitlyn a Toddler bed for our room to see if we can work on getting her into sleeping in her own room at night. It would be nice to have our bed back after a year! She is sleeping so much better and is really good about soothing herself in her sleep so I think it's time. Even if she sleeps in our room, as long as she learns to sleep in her own bed, that would be fine with me for now. The bed we got her is so cute, it's cherry colored and a sleigh bed and it matches our bed and bedroom set so it should be very cute!

Kaitlyn decided to taste dirt for the first time the other day (8/30/06). Her and I were outside playing and she went digging in the planters Grandma Lois has on the back porch and she ate some dirt! She was such a mess after playing in there. It must have been so much fun for her!

Also last night was the first time ever Kaitlyn has attempted to take off her diaper. She didnt undo the tape at all she pulled the diaper down as if it was a pair of panties! It was so adorable though when she tried pulling it back up it got stuck under her butt and she couldnt get it back up! Ha ha ha it was cute! I was so proud! I asked her then if she wanted to try going potty like a big girl and she looked at me and shook her head yes! Hopefully she can wait until Christmas, I plan on getting her a potty chair then and letting her slowly work on her own towards going potty. I dont plan on bugging her about potty training until she is about two... unless she really wants to start trying when she gets her potty chair. She's getting so big!

So she is 14 1/2 months old right now and she is still not talking. She signs SOOOOO much and totally understands and communicates very well but still no real english words. I dont know if thats a bad thing but at least we totally understand her and she listens and understands what we say to her. Thats all I care about. She does "talk" a lot in baby talk though so I know she can express herself.

We have an appointment with the Pediatrician in a couple weeks for her 15 month check up. So we shall see how things go then and how much she has grown.

Until then...

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Every day it's more and more incredible to watch my little miracle develope. Kaitlyn is becoming such a wonderful little lady. She's very into imitating now which is good and bad. We have to watch what we do because she does it too, but it's fun to see her doing all these things. She is such a great little helper already too! She and Daddy cleaned up her toys last night and he asked her to put a few in the toy box but after that she went around the room picking them all up and putting them "away." Some of them ended up in very strange places but hey... she was helping and cleaning up her toys! It was great!!

She did the most amazing thing last night too!! You dont realize a kid so young would have such an imagination OR that she would know to do this... but... Kaitlyn was FEEDING her baby doll!! She has never seen anyone feed a baby in front of her so she must just know that she was fed. I have no idea how she knew but she was pretending to eat out of this little bowl she had and was then giving the baby some from the bowl and back and forth she went like that for about 10 mins. It was so adorable to watch! She's already going to be a good mommy!! Ha ha ha

Other than that we are working on talking which she still isnt doing really. She understands and will answer "yes" and "no" by shaking her head, but she still does not really talk. I have begun asking her lots of one sided questions, waiting for the day she answers me! She points at a lot of things too and I have started telling her that "I do not speak Point" and she will have to tell me what she is pointing at or at least go show me. Most of the time it is pointing for a book to read, but still. I want her to either sign what she wants or say it. We're getting there she is "talking" a lot more, especially while looking at books, but no real words yet other than Mama's and Dada's sometimes.

She's really working on feeding herself with a fork and spoon too and I gotta say she is getting really good. When she eats, even if I'm feeding her, I give her a fork or spoon (appropriate for the meal) and let her feed herself some too. I gotta say... even though there are times when K will drop food on the floor (when she is done eating) or her fork or spoon, she has yet to throw a plate or bowl - empty or full. When I give her a plate of food she sits there and holds it with one hand and very gently gets food off of it and eats. She's such a big girl!

I'm just more and more in love with this child every day! I couldnt be any happier with the way she is turning out. Now, if we could just get her to sleep in her own bed!

More Little Milestones

Lately Kaitlyn's favorite thing to do is to bend over and stand with her head on the ground. I have no idea where she got it from because I certainly am not doing that. I think it's genetic, when Jon was little he used to sit upside down next to the couch and watch tv. I'm sure she gets this stuff from her dad!! ha ha ha

She's walking so much better and faster too... almost running! Daddy and her play a "gonna getcha" game and he chases her through the room and catches her in the hall way. She's getting so fast now. She also doesnt give me things like she used to. Before, I could ask her what she had or what she was eating and she would bring it to me. I guess she learned that when she does that I take things away from her. Now, she will show it to me from a few feet away and when I try to get it, she turns and runs! She's adorable too so I can't be mad about it, and hey, it gives me some exercise too having to chase her!

I just love how sturdy she is getting on her feet now, her dancing is getting so good. She's got rythm! She bends her knees and bounces now and she pushes up on to her toes and back down. She's not falling nearly as much when she does it, either. Oh and she is so cute too when she does those things and puts her hands up in the air, kinda like a "raise the roof" type thing but her palms are facing forward!

We're having so much fun now, SHE is so much fun now! Kaitlyn and I go for walks almost everyday and she just loves seeing the trees and all the new things around. I try to take a different route every day. Sometimes we even walk to the library. It's about a mile and a half so that gets my 3 miles in for the day.

So far K has been doing well on milk. We spent about a week switching her over and adding it to her formula and after a week we said forget it and gave her full milk. She did fine and she likes it. She's drinking 12-15 ounces if it a day, which the Dr said was fine. She also drinks TONS of water everyday and sometimes some juice. Needless to say, this kid pees a lot!!!!

We had to switch Kaitlyn over to the next size diaper too. The size 3's still fit her and had plenty of room but they were not long enough and were cutting into her hips and thighs. So now the 4's are big around the waist but good for length. Plus the bigger ones hold more fluid!!! ha ha ha

Anyway, she's such a big girl now and so independant! I'm so glad we are incorporating some attachment parenting into how we raise Kaitlyn because she is becoming such a wonderful little lady. She is so polite, sharing, empathetic and considerate. It's amazing that a one year old can be so intelligent! She knocks on every door before she enters, she offers you the food right out of her mouth, she gets upset when I'm sick... she is just so wonderful. I love her so much!

One other thing Kaitlyn has gotten good at is signing "phone." Whenever Grandma Lois' phone rings she puts her fist to her ear. Yesterday she was eating lunch and the phone rang and she did that and said "Dada." She wouldnt even finish her lunch because she kept signing phone, saying Dada and pointing at my cell phone. I guess she just knows that Daddy is the one who calls on the phone to talk to her. It's not like we get many other calls!

Ok I think I've written enough here for now... there is just a lot going on and I'm so glad I'm home to see it all and to raise my beautiful, amazing little girl.

Build A.... What?

When Kaitlyn was only a couple months old (if you have followed our journey you may remember) we went to the Albany IVF Baby Harvest. Kaitlyn won a couple prizes for her costume and one of them was a Build-A-Bear Workshop gift card. We decided a long time ago that when Kaitlyn turned one we would take her to make something, so today we went and built Kaitlyn a Hello Kitty!

We had her choose between Hello Kitty since she was pointing at her as we walked in the store and a Giraffe. We got her out of the stroller and I held them on either side of me... she had a hard time choosing because to her I think a toy is a toy, but finally she picked the Hello Kitty. We got her a little pink Mets outfit (they didnt have any Detroit Tigers stuff!) and even a little mitt, bat and ball! It was really cute watching Kaitlyn while we were making her kitty. She just kept grabbing for it... she wanted it so bad! After we got her made up and dressed we got to name her and make her a birth certificate. We decided that since most kids end up saying "Ditty" before they can say "Kitty" that we would name her that.

And, "Ditty" was born June 20th 2006. I guess I'll have to get a picture soon and add it!

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH yeah!!!!!!!!!!! Tonight I was changing Kaitlyn's diaper in her room and Jon walked in so I asked Kaitlyn "Who's that?" and pointed at Jon. Kaitlyn clearly said "Dada" after about 1 minute or so. That just means that "Dada" is her first word! I wanted it to be Mama so bad but I guess I talk about Dada so much that that would be the first word she says! Oh well... I'm just happy she said SOMETHING and said it about something, or someone as it was.

Like a Duck to Water

Well today I'm in the bathroom and of course Kaitlyn has to follow me in there as always. She was hanging out and playing with her bath toys while we were in there. I stood up to flush the toilet and before I even had a chance to close the lid she tossed in one of her bath ducks! It was so funny! I called Jon in to get it out, too! Ha ha ha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KAITLYN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KAITLYN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOO KAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIITLYN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!

Well Kaitlyn had a very nice party and I have already uploaded the pictures to our Shutterfly Collection (http://fuchs.shutterfly.com). She was such a good girl and handled all the people being there very well! He party was on Sun June 11th. We had food and cake and she opened her presents. Daddy actually made Kaitlyn's cakes and decorated them too! He made a little tiny two layer heart cake for her to mutilate and another for the adults to eat. She got lots of great gifts and money too which will buy her some wonderful outdoor toys. We plan on getting her a Sandbox, a pool and a few other things she needs or that we want to get her.

Two of the things she got for her birthday she will not put down! She got a baby doll from Auntie Sarah and she carries her around everywhere... even HAD to take her on our walk yesterday! Also Uncle Charlie got her a My MP3 player... it's a little toy MP3 player that has a few kids songs on it and she just adores it! She constantly has it and is carrying it around playing the different songs! I think I'm going to get one for my Great Niece Alyssa since her birthday was June 8th... I know I'm late but I had so much going on last week!

Not a whole lot to say really other than she had a wonderful day. I do wish my family could have been here to celebrate too but it looks like we will have to celebrate with them later in the year when we go home for a visit!

So NOT Little Anymore!!!

Oh my goodness I can't believe what happened today. Well first of all the whole world knows that Kaitlyn sleeps in our bed still and one day we will get her in her own. Well today, this afternoon, she was taking a nap in our bedroom in the bed, which is downstairs. Jon, his mom and I were all in her kitchen downstairs baking a cake and talking and just getting ready for Kaitlyn's birthday party tomorrow. Jon made an AWESOME cake by the way and decorated it so cool! Anyway, we're sitting there talking about how Kaitlyn was still sleeping and that we would hear her when she wakes up and blah blah blah.... out of the corner of my eye I saw something move... I kind of screamed and looked and it was KAITLYN! She climbed down from the bed (which she already knew how to do and has been doing) and she walked all the way through the house to Grandma's kitchen!!! We were ALL in shock that she didnt cry when she woke up or yell to one of us or even get into anything in the bedroom. Trust me, there is plenty to get in to!! She just quietly came out of the room and into the kitchen with her pacifier in her mouth.

I cant believe it... she is such a big girl... makes me wonder if we should just make her crib a toddler bed now lol Maybe she would sleep in it! hahahaha

Anyway, everything is set for the party tomorrow. We just have to go in the morning and get the balloons blown up. Jon made a little tiny two layer heart shaped cake for Kaitlyn and a round two layer cake for the adults. We also have a Carvel Ice cream cake too. I made a deli meat tray with Ham, Turkey and Roast Beef and a cheese tray with American and Swiss. We have White and Wheat bread and Tuna & Macaroni Salad and Potato salad too. I also made some YUMMY Ham Rolls - which I can eat one or two of, too! I think it's going to turn out to be a nice party. We will be sure to get lots of pictures and I will add one or two here when I get them. As always there will be a bunch at our shutterfly collection, online.

Wobbly Walker

Well I thought I would update a bit on Kaitlyn. Not much new to report other than she is still doing very well with her reflux! She has hardly puked at all in the last almost month. She did get sick for a few days and was puking more then but for the most part she has been doing wonderfully. We are still not thickening her formula and things are going great. I really think we are seeing some light here and that she really is outgrowing this mess! It took a year but it looks like we are here, finally!

The other thing Kaitlyn is getting so incredibly good at is walking! She now walks around our little space up here with out holding on to much. She will walk across at least half the room alone. She's getting so big!! She's been babbling a lot again too and I'm hoping a word or two might come out at some point... so far nothing but baby talk.

Kaitlyn is also getting so good at signing and she knows a lot of things already. All we have to do now is tell her to go push the button without pointing or looking at anything and she knows to go over and push the button on her Tunnel to make the music play. There are times she doesnt feel like going over to it and she will just look at it and point and make this cute grunt, as if to say, yeah it's over there. ha ha ha ha She knows where her ears are and her hair and Mama's Boo boo's (from my surgery), just so many things. She's very into the imitating stage and she does things we do now quite a bit! Not sure if I mentioned it before but she is very thoughtful when eating and offers me EVERYthing. Even if she has already had it in her mouth, she will take out the food and offer me some. It's adorable! I just have to tell her no, thank you, it's for you because I cant eat what she eats and well... who wants to eat something thats half eaten out of someone's mouth? Ha ha ha ha

She's so much fun now... last night we were "beeping" each others noses and she was cracking up... Oh how I LOVE her laugh! She was just laughing and laughing out loud every time she touched my nose and I said "beeeeeep"! She loved it!!! She would touch Daddy's nose and his nose made a "Hoooooonk" noise... it was so cute!

She's getting big too... really growing well!! We got out her 12 month clothes and she is now wearing them. They are working out great too with length and everything. Somethings are a little big but it will all work out! I still have to put all of the clothes in her drawers, but I did get the drawers cleaned out and they are ready to go!

I still can't believe we're planning Kaitlyn's 1st birthday party!! We sent out the invitations already and we're having it June 11th from 1-3pm. Jon is going to be making her cake and we also got a Carvel Ice cream cake (that was free from the Birthday club at the local grocery store). I'm going to be making all the food, there wont be much. We're doing deli meats w/bread, veggies and dip, Tuna & Macaroni salad and I'm going to make some Ham Rolls. I decided since my new life consists of lots of protein and no carbs and this is MY daughters party that these are the things we are having. No cookies, brownies, chips, crackers... nothing... the cakes are more than enough. Everything else needs to be healthy! I'm going to even get Light bread too White and Wheat and people will eat it or not. They wont even know the difference. I may think about making a fruit salad too but I think that will be enough food since it's only a 2 hour party!

Anyway, her party should be lots of fun and I got great decorations! Jon and I just wish Kaitlyn had some little kid friends to come to play with her... oh well, next year maybe! I wish my family was closer so they could come too but I think it will be nice having a small get together anyway!

Well... this turned out to be a big update... I'm sure I'll have more to say sometime soon. If not we'll definitely be updating after the party with pictures!

Family os Sickies

Well it looks like we all got a bug. For the past 4 or 5 days Kaitlyn has been sick and feverish (99.8-102) and just miserable all around. Well Jon and I realized last night we were both getting sore throats and stuffy noses and now it looks like we all got caught up in the sickie bug. I think it all started with Grandma Lois feeling sick and us hanging out with her... though she didnt mention being sick until the day after. Ah well... now we all suffer!

Too Big Too Fast

Wow... Kaitlyn is just speeding along at growing up! She is now about 20lbs... I cant believe she is growing so much so fast. She is so tall too but I have not measured her. She just turned 11 months on Saturday too! It's just about time to get out her 12 month clothes because although her 6-9 month stuff still more than fits her around the waist and stuff the sleeves and pants are getting way too short! Well see about getting all that stuff ready in the next month and get her into those clothes.

I'm so amazed at Kaitlyn's comprehension and of course her communication. She does so much to tell us stuff and she totally understands things I say! I love it! She's just getting so big so fast! No, by the way, I'm not wanting another baby just yet! Everyone said I would miss being pregnant and I dont... they said I would miss having a tiny baby and I dont. Dont get me wrong, I loved both of those things, but I dont miss them enough to get pregnant again now. Plus I have to wait 12-18 months to get pregnant anyway after my surgery. By then Kaitlyn will be about 2 or so and I think that will be perfect! She will want to help with her little brother or sister and will be even better at understanding and communicating.

Today, since I'm feeling a bit better, I hope to get the house picked up and try to get the dishes done and then do my best to keep it that way. Kaitlyn has torn this place apart over the last two weeks while I was in the hospital and while I wasn't able to do much and it's time to get my house back in order. I guess Daddy understands how tiring it can be to be a stay at home mom!

Well, I guess there isn't much else to update about, Kaitlyn is doing great and growing so well! Oh her reflux is doing so well too!! The week I was in the hospital (so starting May 1st) we stopped thickening her formula and she has been drinking it plain for 2 weeks now with no issues at all! She still takes her meds and has only thrown up a couple times these last couple weeks. I dont want to jinx anything but I think we are seeing the light... I think she is starting to grow out of it... FINALLY at almost 1 yr old! I'm so happy for her!! I'm going to see, if when we go to her 1yr appt, they want to try weaning her off her Zantac and see how she does.

I'm so proud of her for enduring all that pain as a baby while we tried to find what would help her... she is such a strong girl and I know she will go very far in life. I promise to love her and support her along her way in everything she decides to do!

Love When it Comes Out of No Where!

So out of no where today Kaitlyn started doing a couple things! She now does an "Oh my goodness" and "Uh oh" hand signal. She now puts her hand over her mouth kind of backwards across her cheek - I definitely need to get a pick when I can - whenever we say "uh oh" and "oh my" she is so great! She gets a huge smile on her face when she does it! I cant believe it! She's amazing! I guess with Grandma Lois and Mommy doing this same hand gesture she learned it! I love it! It's so adorable and I just cant get enough!

Oh and the other thing she started doing is something Mommy does! When I laugh real hard I kinda put one hand on my chest and tonight she started doing that too!! She put her hand on her chest and laughed out loud!!! Oh my goodness, it was so incredibly funny. Jon and I just busted out laughing even harder!

Oh she's getting so big so fast! I cant believe all the imitating she is doing now and how much she is communicating and understanding! She's still only 10 months old and seems like she is two!

Who knows what she will do today!

Update

It's been awhile since I have updated. I actually spent some time in the hospital getting surgery and I havent been able to sit here long enough to get any updates about Kaitlyn written. Really all she has been doing is perfecting all of her acquired skills. She claps all the time even with us just saying the word "clap."

She has had an explosion of comprehension. She understands and waves "Bye, Bye" she understands "press the button". She knows when I tell her to get her "nummy" she goes and gets her pacifier and comes to me to go down for a nap. She just really understands so much more than she used to show. I'm sure she understood a lot but she shows it now.

I will update more when I get a chance and I am feeling better... having having major surgery I'm not feeling up to updating all that much.

Clappity Clap Clap

YAY!!! Kaitlyn clapped for the first time just now!!! WOOHOOOO!! Daddy was writing on his Mets blog and he has a background song on there. The song came on and Kaitlyn started dancing (bouncing actually) and clapping her hands! She's not making a loud clapping noise, but she does make a tiny clapping sound sometimes!! We were so surprised! She did it out of no where with no prompting!!! She's AWESOME!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!!

My Little Toddler

Ok so I know I haven't updated in a bit but having a toddler running around is keeping me VERY busy!! Even right after I clean my house she is into all of her toys and her cupboard (I let her in the plastic ware cupboard) and yanking everything out. Yeah, I know, it's what kids do but it keeps me going all day long.

Easter was ok... we didnt do anything special. Kaitlyn got a little bunny easter basket and a stuffed bunny. We figured since it was her first Easter we didnt need to go all crazy and get her tons of stuff. Grandma Lois got her enough crap! We did get her a little Bible story book and a couple other Little Golden books that she can read when she finally stops chewing on and eating all of her books. Anyway, it was a good day, we had a quick dinner with Grandma Lois and then we went to the park to play and watch daddy and his friends play basketball.

Kaitlyn has gotten SO much stronger as far as walking goes. She walks now from toy to toy or to the couch and takes the steps all on her own. We do work with her everyday for a few minutes but the rest of the day she choses to walk all on her own. She's so much more sturdy than she was too! She also stands all the time too. She is practicing all the time, she will pick things up and then let go and practice holding things while standing and she is pretty well balanced. She's even started dancing while standing when there is music or when I sing. It's so adorable!!

Her reflux has been rearing it's ugly head lately too and she has been puking a bit more than she has been. Though she doesnt really wear a bib for anything other than eating now, mainly because she doesnt want to. She rips them off of herself!

Oh, another thing Kaitlyn has gotten GREAT at is communication! She will point and let us know what she wants. When she is tired she will either go get or point to her pacifier and then will lay down on my shoulder. She only uses her pacifier when going to sleep so it's not something we will have to worry about breaking except for at night. She has gotten so much better at napping in her chair and not on Mommy. She also lets us know when she wants milk... so far she just whines and points or she will climb in her chair so we know she wants some... but we're all learning .

Kaitlyn is getting SO tall too! I have my craft table set up in the living room and she is now tall enough to grab things off the top of it! At least things that are around the edges of the table! One other reason she has been keeping me busy during the day! Needless to say, today is yet another massive cleaning day. I have been working hard to get a lot of things organized and soon I have to work on getting Kaitlyn's 12 month clothes out. Even though the 6-9 months are so big on her... the length is not cutting it anymore. The onsies and pants are getting short.

Ah well... thats about it.

Big for Her Britches

I really think Kaitlyn thinks she is older than she is! Ha ha ha! Let's see, she is doing things much before a child normally does, like, no longer using bottles and standing and walking on her own. She's just amazing to watch! A couple of days ago I noticed that she is now steadying herself and standing all alone, without prompting or anything from us! I also noticed that she will take steps to get to something she wants now instead of crawling. Not many, but a few steps! She does still crawl around and loves to find a book or a piece of cardboard or anything like that that she can put her hands on a push around the floor while she crawls. It's so funny to see her doing it and I'm not sure where she got the idea but she just started doing it one day.

She's just really growing up and she is definitely NOT a baby anymore! Now if I can only get her to talk... and say Mama!!!

10 Months Old!!

Wow... it's amazes to me to think 10 months ago I gave birth to this gorgeous, beautiful, amazing, little girl. I can't believe how much she has grown and how much she has learned. She still has so much more to learn too!! I LOVE watching her accomplish things, like crawling, standing, walking. She gets so so so excited when she does something new. Her face just lights up and she has a huge smile and she makes this weird grunting happy noise. I'll have to remember to get that on video! It's just so wonderful and much more than I ever thought Motherhood would be. She makes me so proud!

I always knew this was my true calling in life... I was meant to be a mother but never really realized how happy it would make me to be everything for my child. I love how she looks at me, I love how she needs me, I love her wet little tongue kisses - which she gives now without prompting! I just love everything about her. She's very stubborn, hard headed and sassy like me and I love that too! I used to think I never wanted a girl, because I didnt want her being like me... but this is truely how everything should be. I'm supposed to have a girl and work with her to be a great mix between me and daddy!

I just never knew the love for a child could be so grand. I thank God everyday for my special gift, my little miracle. I love you Kaitlyn more than I have ever loved anything or anyone in my life and I will forever!

Auntie Sarah in Virginia

Kaitlyn has now been in 8 states and she still isnt even one year old! We took a trip to Virginia last weekend to see my best friend in the whole entire world, Sarah. She is married to Scott and he is in the Navy, they are stationed down in Virginia for now but are both from Michigan originally. Scott is finishing up a 6 month tour out to sea right now so Sarah is home with their two kids, Hannah and Gavin. Hannah is going to be three next month and Gavin is about 2 1/2 months younger than Kaitlyn. The kids had a good time playing with each other. Kaitlyn has never really had time to play with other kids or be around them for a long period of time. I really think she enjoyed being around them. I liked it because they kept her busy a lot of the time and they are also really good kids! I do have to mention that Kaitlyn is very empathetic when other babies cry. Whenever Gavin would cry or sound like he was upset Kaitlyn would start crying. At first we thought she was scared of him but we realized that she was ok with him until he started crying or squealing. After a couple days of being together everything was ok. Kaitlyn really LOVED having space to crawl around. Sarah has a really nice open and big apartment so the kids had lots of room to roam. Thats something Kaitlyn doesnt get here in our very tight living quarters.

The weather wasnt all that cooperative, we had planned on going to the beach and the zoo but, while we were there it was either hot and rainy or chilly and sunny. Very strange weather! We did decide to go to the little Petting Zoo right near their house and the kids had a good time. Espeically playing at the playground that is there too! Well Gavin was sleeping most of the time, but Hannah and Kaitlyn sure enjoyed going down the slide and on the swings!

It was a very wonderful and relaxing weekend and I'm glad we decided to take the trip. It was actually a wonderful birthday present from Jon because I had been feeling a bit down and seeing Sarah and getting to spend some quality time with her was just what the Dr ordered. It was great just hanging out most of the weekend and talking! Sarah and I didnt shut up pretty much the whole weekend!

Anyway, I wish we lived closer, not only for us, but for the kids. They are so close in age and really enjoyed playing with each other, I know if we lived closer they would end up being best of friends, like Sarah and I!

While we were there Kaitlyn started "saying" something new... well not really saying a new sound but saying it differently. First of all, she has been saying "deh, deh, deh, deh..." and "baa, baa, baa, baa..." when she was saying the "baa's" she had her tongue sticking out of her mouth. While we were at Sarah's she started doing "Bah's" without the tongue and they sounded more like bah, rather than baa! It's so hard describing in writing what it sounds like when kids "talk." Anyway, most of the time she remembers to put her tongue in her mouth to talk but she does still say them with it sticking out.

Speaking of communication, Kaitlyn is really good at pointing for things she wants and she still signs Daddy and Mommy. She asks to be picked up and asks us to get something for her if she is unable. She's gotten good at putting things inside of things and taking them out. She likes to help me with the laundry by taking the clothes out of the basket and handing them to be to put them in the washer. It's not that helpful when she takes the folded clothes out of the basket though! She has fun and I only have to refold them so it's no big deal. One day SHE'LL be doing the laundry!

STEP by STEP!!!!!

Kaitlyn took her first steps!!!!! YAY! YAY! YAY! Jon and I were working on getting her to stand more and we worked a little on her walking and she did it!!! We even got it on video!!! YAY!!! WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

Jon also took a couple pics of Kaitlyn in her new Beach hat and Sunglasses!! We're taking them to the beach with us when we go to Virginia this weekend!!

Ketchup - Catch up!

Ok so let me catch up here... Kaitlyn is doing such cute things now. Jon and I both LOVE getting her open mouth tongue sticking out kisses! She's great and now sometimes she just gives us kisses without us prompting her! I love it!! She even kisses her toys now, especially her green Care Bear with the Kite on his belly (not sure of his name). Ohhhhh and it's so cute too because she does the tongue kiss thing and then after she will make the "Smooch" sound hahahaha she doesnt make the kiss noise WITH the kiss!! hahahaha!!

Ok so she's really growing up in the eating department. Now she's been pretty much soley on table food since she was about 7 months. A few days or so ago... maybe a week or so, we notice K would take a bite from the fork or whatever and then pull the food out of her mouth and then put it back in and she would keep doing it over and over. For the life of me I couldnt figure out what the heck she was doing and it was getting irritating because she wasnt really eating and seemed to be playing with her food. WELL! We figured it out!!! She's taking bites!!! Like we do... we put food to our mouths, take a bit and then take the food away! She was immitating us! Now I realized that she is doing that same thing and sliding the food down over her teeth to rip the food and she does it over and over too until she gets it small enough that she eats the last piece. She's just learning so much and she really amazes me everyday! I'm so proud, seeing her so happy with her acheivments makes me very happy!! YAY!!

Kaitlyn is STILL into chewing on everything and that includes my toes!! lol She doesnt realize how much those two little teeth of her hurt! Sometimes she gets ahold of my toe and bites and it literally hurts! She's very easy to startle right now so sometimes when I jump and "yeouch" she starts to cry because I scare her. Not purposely, but she is in that stage where she is very sensitive! She'll learn quick! Even a guy at the restaurant last night scared her just by sneezing! She started crying and was so upset! I hope this doesnt last too long!!

Oh the other night I gave Kaitlyn some apple slices and she had a great time eating them!!!! She held them and she rubbed them on her teeth to eat them. She seemed so proud of herself and really enjoyed her Apples!! She did a great job eating them too. She's getting so big.

I wanted to mention here that though she is still puking some, Kaitlyn did have a couple days that she didnt puke at all. She had one day of nothing coming up last week and then she had a couple days where she just spit up some... then of course she has had a few days of puking all over herself and other places I didnt realize, like the carpet! Ah well... she seems to be doing a bit better overall!

Last night was SOOOOO cool, Jon and I just stopped what we were doing to watch K. First of all she is really using her imagination. She has three "voices" now or tones of voices anyway. She has her normal voice and then she has a high pitched voice that she talks to her toys with but she also has a mean/mad sounding deeper voice that she does. It was great watching her play with her toys and get mad at them and stuff... it was amazing! I was in awe! She also - man she's creative - was taking her blocks out of the yellow container and putting them at the top of the back of her bouncy/rocker chair and watching them slide down to the seat part. She kept bending down and picking block after block out of the bucket and watching them slide down the chair. It was so great and so amazing that she would think to do something like that. She even stopped in the middle to look at us as if to ask, are you watching? hahahaha it was so cool!! She's got such a wonderful personality!

Well next weekend we're off to celebrate my birthday in Virginia with my best friend Sarah and her two kids, Hannah and Gavin. Gavin and Kaitlyn are about 2 months apart so they should have a good time playing together! It's going to be a great time, we're planning on going to Colonial Williamsburg and to the beach and the zoo too! It's going to be a good time and relaxing... plus Auntie Sarah is doing all the cooking and it sounds like we will have a wonderful range of foods to eat next weekend!! I'm excited about that!! Sarah and I are probably going to do a little crafting stuff too while we're there too. I cant wait to get away, but even more I cant wait to see Sarah and spend some good time with her! I miss her so much and even though we've seen each other a few times over the past few years, we havent gotten a chance to spend any good amount of time together. It's going to be wonderful for the kids too.

Ok I'll keep updating as the accomplishments occur!

2 Toofs

I know it's not the best picture in the world, but here are Kaitlyn's new teeth! he he he he!! The one on her right came in a few weeks ago and the one on her left is coming in now. It hasnt quite popped through the gum. I do have to say that this second tooth is much better than the first as far as her dealing with it. She hasn't been so crazy this time though she waking up so much at night. We're all getting through it... hopefully each tooth will get easier and easier for her!

Playing in the Curtains with My New Tooth

-Ok so we all know Kaitlyn loves to pull the sheer curtains down from the window and here is a pic of her with herself all wrapped up in them like some queen of of the She-Babies or something.

Please forgive me for leaving my kid in her pukey clothes... though what you see in the pic isnt half of whats really on the shirt! ha ha ha Yeah, Yeah we own plenty of bibs... sometimes I think the kid needs a break from a bib all the time. And heck, we have Spray N Wash! ha ha ha ha!


Anyway, the reason Little Miss Pukey pants is ever so pukey lately is because she is adding to her chompers! She's getting another tooth!! She's feeling like crap, not eating and puking everywhere. Man, do I ever love reflux. Anyway, I did get a picture today of her wonderful little teefs, I'll add them here when I get a chance.

We did add lots of great photos to our Shutterfly.com Collection, I think there are close to 500 pictures in there now! WOW!

Well now to find my child something for lunch that she isnt even going to eat.

.... Now Face West.

YAY!! Wow, so much happening all the time!! K just stood by herself for about 10 or so seconds! I was holding my Poland Spring water bottle and she wanted it, whats new? So I let her hold it, she grabbed ahold with both hands and after she was steady I let go of the bottle. She did so great! She didnt even fall, she started to lose her balance and she bent her knees and put her hands on the floor and sat down!! She was great!! So, needless to say we will be working more and more on this over then next week or so and hopefully we can get K walking on her own!! She is doing better and better just holding one of our hands now... she just needs some confidence that she can do it herself! YAY I'm so excited she stood by herself!!!

Wet Tongue Kisses

YAY Kaitlyn gives KISSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he he he he!! She gave us her first kiss tonight! She opens her mouth and sticks her tongue out a little and leans in to give us kisses!! It's amazing and I LOVE IT!!! NOTHING can make your heart melt more than a wet tongue kiss from your child! We keep asking for them and she keeps giving them!! It's so fun to get kisses!! Now we're going to work on hugs!!

Here, For Mama & I'm 9 Months Old!

So Kaitlyn is a little talking machine! Though we have no English words, she is certainly babbling her own little baby language very well. She has been doing ba ba ba ba, da da da da and sta sta sta sta (I think thats how you would write it) for the past little while. I believe she also thinks that the sign language sign for Daddy is also for Mommy. Though I still have some investigating to do on that one!

She's getting to be so big though, she only really gets 2 bottles now a day, one in the morning and one before bed. She drinks her formula out of her sippyh cup the rest of the day and does a super job at it! I give her the cup and lay her down on her pillow and tell her it's her "milk." She lays there and will drink most of it. Then something will catch her eye and she will have to go play with it, so after a bit I lay her back down and she will drink more.

She's also gotten into giving me things. She picks up blocks and toys and anything else she finds laying around and brings it to me to give to me. Then I give it back to her... then she gives it back to me. We go on and on like that for a few minutes at a time a few times a day. She smiles so big when I say "Oh for me? Thank you, you're so nice to share with mama!" Then she will go off and play with something else awhile and then come back to give me more things over and over. I love that she is learning all of these great things! I love to see her smile at her discoveries! She's such a little explorer!! One of these days she is going to get that pointing little finger of her caught in something! ha ha ha ha! She's so cute, she points at everything... even at me when I point at her and tell her "NO!" She will point back up and me and "uhh uhhh uhhh" her little mad voice grunts at me! Man, she's adorable!!

So Kaitlyn finally went back to the Dr for her 9 month visit. She is now 18lbs and 26 3/4 inches. Still growing fairly well and just about staying on her curve. She still only eats a small amount of formula (most kids eat 16-24oz a day - she eats 9-15oz per day) and she is on all table food. She started eating table food at 7 months and hasnt wanted to have much baby food since. She still likes her fruit mixed with cereal sometimes but would rather just eat regular veggies instead of mushed ones hehehehe. She eats everything, whatever I'm eating she wants... so needless to say, I have been eating MUCH better because she always has to have a bite! I cant let her eat bad like I usually do!! We share just about every meal. The Dr said she's growing and gaining weight so she can keep eating like she is. The Dr has no worries about any of that right now!

As for her reflux... it's still there and a big part of her life. She is still getting her Zantac (4.5mL/day now) everyday and still pukes all over the place. Last night it happened to be all over me... YAY! The Dr said he's not worried about her puking as long as she is growing and gaining weight and not in pain. I feel the same way, so thats GOOD! I'll just keep cleaning it up... and changing my clothes! I do have to say that she is MUCH better than she was months ago... she pukes much less now compared to then. Most of the time she refluxes and swallows it... I know thats gross, but the poor kid does what she has to. So once in awhile (2-5 times a day during good days - during a flare, it can be 10 times), she pukes a puddle on the floor. It's only about an ounce, at most, these days... though now she likes to play in it and crawl in it! lol :) How fun for me! I'd say some stock in Spray N Wash is a good investment!! :) hahahaha Of course, what isn't fun is when I have no idea she puked and find it later by stepping barefoot in a puddle of cold puke. The formula she is on is very oily so it makes the hardwood floors slippery! Anyway, the Dr said she could be puking like this until she is 18 months... if she still is by then, then we will look into it more... but we have awhile to go before that and hopefully she will get better!!

Playing Around the Playground

Today was such a beautiful, warm day! It was in the 60's, so we got a chance to go outside for a walk and to play on the playground around the corner. It was the first time Kaitlyn has been on a swing or anything and she really enjoyed it! She got to lounge in the baby swing while Mommy and Daddy pushed her and took pictures (and video). Since K is so into "Shake-ah, Shake-ah" I took her over to those metal animal things that you sit on and rock and she LOVED it!! She's so tiny and can barely keep herself on it, but she sat there shaking and rocking herself like crazy. She was so happy and amazed to get such an effect out of her "Shake-ah, Shake-ah."

Kaitlyn also got another first while at the playground. She was crawling, well walking through the tubes and going down the slide with daddy and we noticed when eating lunch that she somehow got a splinter in her finger! Her little finger was all red, but it wasn't a terrible splinter. Her skin is so soft and her body was very responsive... so as soon as we got home I simply pushed on the back of the splinter, or would that be the front? Anyway, it kinda floated out of her skin with a miniscule amount of blood. She was perfectly fine after that and went along playing without so much as a band-aide!

Off and Swimming

So Kaitlyn and I started swimming again and I forgot to mention it! She is doing great in the pool, really kicking her feet and generally having a good time. I'm very disappointed in the class this session, though. There is no set instructor and every week it's someone different. They don't know how to handle a class or hold the class like a class even. It's basically like we paid good money to go play in a pool together. It's very chaotic this time... like I said, I'm just very disappointed with it.

Oh and a while ago I started a "before bed routine" with Kaitlyn. Since I'm no good at remembering to read a book everynight right now, I decided it had to be something I could do with her in bed everynight. So I sing the alphabet in English and in Spanish, do numbers 0-10 in English and in Spanish and then until she falls asleep, I sing "our song." I start out with "You are my Sunshine" and then it turns into "You are my Kaitlyn, my little Kaitlyn." I just sing over and over and then she falls asleep usually holding my hand (well finger actually). It's just something special that her and I have together everynight... no matter what happened during the day!

Not much else to say right now.

FIRST TOOTH!!!!

Kaitlyn got her first tooth!!! It's been coming in for a while but today is the first day we can really feel it and it's sharp! When she bites/chews on my finger it kind of hurts now! hehehe It's still pretty even with her gum so we dont have a great picture of it yet. I'll be putting one here just as soon as you can see it in a photograph! I'm just so excited, she's getting so big and doing so much more than ever!

Lately Kaitlyns favorite things to do are dancing whenever she hears any kind of music or even when I sing to her. She does a bouncy dance if she is on her knees at the time and if she is standing she moves her hips back and forth and it's so amazingly cute! I can't believe she is doing these things on her own! She even knows what she is doing because we ask her if she is dancing and she looks at us and gets this HUGE smile on her face and dances even more!!!

Besides dancing she has been babbling so much more. Sometimes it sounds like she is going to say something but she is just having her own little conversation with herself. Most of the time she is talking to the digital clock numbers on the Cable box! She loves to squeal and babble to her puppets and finger puppets too. She gets a huge smile on her face and starts squeaking as soon as I put them on!

One thing that really has me amazed is how much she understands! She knows what I'm saying a lot of times, especially when I tell her to "come here." She always comes over on her own to have her bottle or get a bite. She also comes over on her own to let me know she is tired and ready for a nap! She's getting so big!!

There's a quick update, I'll add more soon!!!

Bite Me!

Well, I wish I had more time to update but Kaitlyn is keeping me going lately! She's a quick one and gets in to trouble a lot! She's so busy all the time and she pretty much demands attention!! She's a brat! hahahaha

Kaitlyn has become quite the little "Problem Solver," she pushes her walking toy into a corner or against something and she always seems to figure out a way to turn it around or get around the other side of it and push it backwards. Also on her push toy is a little snake that slides back and forth and makes noise and she did that the other day for the first time too. Now when she remembers that he moves she will sit for a minute or two and just move him back and forth and back and forth making the clicking noise. Kaitlyn has become quite the little climber... not only does she climb onto her push toy, she has started climbing into the trudle drawer (that really goes to her crib) that we use to put her toys in. She climbs in it and lays there on the toys playing with them! She's so cute!! I tried to get a video but she likes the camera too damn much! hahahaha

About a week or so ago Jon and I bought Kaitlyn her own Fork and Spoon (a Toddler set) and the other day I decided to give it a try and see if she would hold it and eat off of it. Well SHE DID!! I had to stab the food of course, but I let her take the fork after that and she put the food right in her mouth! She's doing a great job eating too. She doesnt really eat any baby food anymore, except for some rice cereal and pureed fruits. I bought so many I'm really just trying to get rid of it. Most of the time Kaitlyn has Mini Eggo waffles and a Cereal bar for breakfast. Speaking of cereal bars, I let her try to "take a bite" of one yesterday and she did it! Well she tried. She definitely knows what it means to take a bit but she needs a bit more practice before I go handing her something to eat.

I am not sure if I mentioned the "Shake-ah, Shake-ah" that Kaitlyn does but she does it on EVERYthing. She even laughs so hard when daddy sits in the folding chair and she shakes it and he pretends to be flinging all over the place. She just looks up at him and laughs and laughs! She even shakes a table downstairs at Grandma Lois's and does it so hard she almost pulls it over! We have to watch her close down there cause she could yank that thing over on top of her!

The other thing she has really started doing is Dancing!! Yes she dances and she knows what it means when we tell her too! If I sing, her toys play music or even the tv has music on it she dances. It's the cutest little bouncy thing that she does when she is on her knees and when she is standing she shakes her but back and forth as her "dance." It's adorable, she's adorable! I love it so much. Tonight Carrie Underwood was singing on American Idol and daddy was holding Kaitlyn and she started dancing and bouncing in daddy's arms! I HAD to get video and I did! She did notice the camera, of course, but she showed off and danced for us anyway!!

Everyday she amazes me more and more! I can't love anyone or anything more than I love her!! I do feel terrible for her because for the last week and a half or so she has been teething terribly!! After lots of screaming and a few nights of no sleep, she finally woke up this morning with a hole in her gum. There is a tooth ready to pop and I'm so excited. I hope she gets a bit of a break after getting her first tooth. We're going to try to get a picture of her gum but not sure if we can pull that one off. If you are looking at her, she is getting her bottom left tooth first!

We're really excited for her! Well I'll be here to update as soon as the tooth pops, if not sooner!! Wish Kaitlyn luck for a little ease in pain soon!! Or buy some stock in Infant Tylenol!!

Give Me the Finger?

Well not too much to update about since Kaitlyn is just practicing walking and standing and bending and kneeling (from standing). She's got it and is VERY good at it too. She stands for a couple seconds unassisted but then falls because she tenses up her body when she realizes she isnt holding on to something. She can walk using only one hand to hold on now but is too afraid to do it if we hold one of her hands... it's ok if she is holding on to toys or chairs to walk while holding on with one hand. She's REALLY good at walking all over with her push toy and actually using anything she can move AS a push toy... like her highchair, the folding chair, anything.

She has also become my little "Shakah Shakah" baby... she grabs on to things with two hands (or one) and shakes as hard as she can... and let me tell you, it's HARD! She shakes stuff off my laptop table all the time and she bangs the hanging lamp down at Grandma's too! She also shakes all of her toys (i.e. the activity table) and slides them around the floor.

Kaitlyn has found her finger! Hahaha I know sounds funny but what I mean is, she found out that she can touch things with one finger. She goes around now touching EVERYthing with her index finger! She finds buttons on things now and sticks her one finger in the memory card slots and in the vcr. When she did it before she was finding the holes with her hand and getting some fingers in. Now she purposely puts them in and pushes buttons.

The last few days or week Kaitlyn has been miserable... I dont know if it's her reflux acting up but she screams about 50% of the day - sleeps 40% and the other 10% she MIGHT smile or play with her toys. I have no idea what she is screaming and crying about... I have tried everything and she just stands there SCREAMING. I pick her up but then she screams in my ear and I have to put her down. Nothing comforts her... I'm actually at my wits end here and I feel like having a drink! I wish I knew why she was screaming... I dont know if she is hurting or it's frustration about not being able to walk or do something... but she can get around anywhere she wants by walking or crawling so I just dont get it. She still doesnt have any teeth so it could be that but it's weighing on my last nerve and this time needs to go by and she needs to stop the screaming!

Kaitlyn has finally started to babble now... when she isn't screaming she is almost constantly "talking" and making some constant sounds as well. She actually did say "Ma" once but no Mama came of it... I'm still waiting! I think she will be talking soon enough. She's got more important Gross motor skills to work on, I guess! She also has begun testing her vocals and how low and high her voice can go. Grandma Lois jokes and calls her "Madison" from the movie Splash because she squeals so high sometimes when she is doing it. She, of course, loves to squeal too. She's still doing her raspberries as well and she loves them! She will now fart and then make a raspberry and smile or laugh... she sure knows what sounds her farts make!!

Well when I get back from going insane from screaming, I'll update more!

Gamer Girl or Dare Devilette

So Kaitlyn's favorite thing to do lately is get into ALL of Daddy's video game systems that are in the entertainment center. Jon had to give Kaitlyn her own controller so that she would leave his alone while he plays games. She really just chews on it but it keeps her occupied for a bit at least. She spends a lot of time sticking her fingers in the memory card slots and in the vcr, trying to explore everything in the Entertainment center. She also is very good at opening the drawers that have all of the video game controllers and accessories in them.

I really let her do it until she is going to hurt herself or break something. I figure if I let her play with the things now she wont be too interested in them later on and I wont be digging cookies out of the Playstation or the VCR. I'm hoping she will get her fill of these things now and will stop chewing on them sooner or later! For now, our little explorer can have her adventures.

She just better give me a cut if she finds any gold or diamonds or anything worth money! Hahaha

Ohhhhhhh yeah I forgot to mention Kaitlyn is getting brave too, we were watching tv the other night and she was playing with her "push toy" and was pushing it around the living room. She managed to push it across the room and then walked around to the front of it and was pushing it backwards. She ended up getting it pushed up against the entertainment center. Since she keeps taking off the little doors on the front of it, she had a place to climb. We happen to notice that she climbed right in it and was standing there trying to reach things on the entertainment center! She's crazy, but I did manage to get a picture and a little video as proof. It's still on the camera and I will add it later.

Well when she starts climbing Mt. Everest I'll be sure to update. Hehehe

Smooooochie Smooch

Kaitlyn started doing Kiss noises today... well she's really sucking on her bottom lip but it sounds like Kisses so we're going with that! It's SO cute when she does it! Now I just have to work on her actually giving us kisses!!

Not much to write about, thats really the only new thing. Besides her getting much stronger and she's very speedy now with crawling and walking along stuff. She can get anywhere now! She still gets a little upset or frustrated when trying to get down from standing but she practices often. She stands next to something holding on and then bends down to pick things up or just touch the floor. She's getting there. She is also getting a lot better at walking while holding one hand. We're trying to get her to do that more often so that she will be ready to walk when she wants to.

Thats about it!

Something About Space

Well I cant believe how so much happens in just a week. This week Kaitlyn has learned to "get down" from standing. She's been practicing bending over now all week. She's so cute, she bends over and reaches down to touch the floor (to hold on) and then puts the other hand on the floor and plops her butt down on the floor. Oh man, it's so great to watch her! She's getting much better at not screaming her head off when she falls down from standing. Now when she falls to a sitting position, without banging her head on the floor and crying, we clap and tell her "Yay! Great Job." That way she knows that she did a good thing by sitting down from standing. I know it's hard for her to understand but it is so amazing when she does get it.

She's LOVING when WE understand HER. She will put her hand to her head to sign for Daddy and we say to her "Dada" when she does and she gets a GREAT big smile. Also because she fully understands the "Hi" sign (opening and closing hand to wave) she gets a huge smile when we do that too. She's getting so much better at understanding us and we are of her too and it seems like such a big deal to her that we do communicate what she is trying so hard to.

She's still teething like mad and this week she spiked a 103 fever one day and we were up all night with her screaming and screaming in pain. We think it was teething, anyway because she wanted nothing to do with a bottle or her pacifier or anything. She was just miserable. All I could do was pace the floor with her to keep her calm. I know she was hurting but she had Tylenol and Motrin to bring the fever down but it wasnt cutting it for the pain though. She's been better this week since then so thats a good thing.

Kaitlyn's hair is getting longer and I think it's going to have some body and curls to it. It's starting to curl up on top of her head... it's cute. She also has these cute curls on the sides of her head that turn into wings sometimes. I'm constantly pushing them back along the side of her head. I forgot to mention that she found her hair and ears. She grabs her ears to play with them and move them around and also when she is tired. I noticed, too, that she found her hair because when she's tired she will grab the hair on the sides of her head and pull it. It's funny but she doesnt mind it so she can do what she wants. I'm sure her pulling her hair is nothing compared to the reflux pain she gets!

As for her reflux, it's still sucks! She's still puking a lot and still in pain sometimes. Right now I have to call the Pediatrician or the GI to see about getting a dosage check because she is back to crying while eating and she's also not eating nearly enough again. She's cutting herself back again to about 14 ounces a day. Yesterday I gave her Maalox before her bottle and she actually ate 4 or 5 ounces but she has only been taking two or three at a time lately and thats just not enough for the calories she is burning! On that note, Kaitlyn is very into our food. I have to order her something when we go out to eat now. She get so mad if we she doesnt get to eat while we are or what we're eating. She eats just about everything we do now, except for things that will aggrivate her reflux of course. She doesnt get tomato sauces or anything like that. She does get some of our veggies, rice, potatoes and plain pasta.

As for gross motor skills, Kaitlyn is SO great at walking around the room with all her toys and her highchair and anything else she can grab on to to walk with! I even went and bought her a new pair of real sneakers with real bottoms. All the other shoes she has in the size she is wearing now (a size 2) are basically decorative and have no real soles on them. She likes to stand at restaurants and other places we go and walk around the highchair there or whatever she can and now that she has real shoes she can do that. They are cute too, I took a picture of them! Anyway, Kaitlyn and I built her a whole round circle of things so she can officially walk the entire room by herself. It's really great how independantly dependant she is, ha ha ha. Oh she's getting really good too at walking while only holding on with one hand. We've been practicing with her trying to get her brave enough to try it on her own. She is getting brave while standing on the couch and she will practice standing without holding on. She's actually not bad at it, if she wouldn't concentrate on it! When she doesn't pay attention to herself doing it, she can stand for a couple seconds.

Ah, anyway, I think that about sums up the week. We did go last night and buy Kaitlyn a coat. Though they don't make coats for babies under size 12months, so we had to get her one in that size. They really only make snow suits and stuff like that for babies that cover every part of their body... I guess they don't think a 7 month old would be walking and need her feet out! So we got her a cute dark pink coat with white stripes and a little butterfly and flowers on the front left side. At least it's big enough that it will fit her until spring. She does have a snow suit too but since it's been 60 degrees here lately (in FEB!) it's not needed.

Ok thats enough, this is long enough already! I'll update more soon!

Amazing Little Creature

Well I think Kaitlyn is amazing, in just a few short weeks she went from a whining, screaming, crying, frustrated child on her hands and knees to the Mistress of her Domain! She is so great at crawling now, not that she goes far, but she is exploring more of the room now and finding even more things to stand up with. She's mastered the standing up thing and she is starting to get even more confident with walking along the furniture and her toys. She's even starting to get into things she shouldn't be into! She's crawling over to the entertainment center now and getting a bit grabby and now she constantly heads for the wires hanging off my computer. I even got a picture of her yesterday "red handed" as she was grabbing the wires. Soon she will learn "No!" hehehe. Most of the time I do try to say "Please don't do that, Kaitlyn," but when it's something very important like the wires or something she will hurt herself with I have to say, "No!"

Kaitlyn has recently ventured into the kitchen and started "feeling" the cupboards. She hasn't tried to open them... probably becuase she never sees me open them, but she does scratch her hand on them. She loves to hear plastic bags too and she always plays with the ones on the floor that have stuff in them.

So, I forgot last week I decided to put away all of Kaitlyn's 3-6 month clothes. Most of it still fit her but I figured since she was 7 1/2 months old we should move her into the bigger stuff. SHe is now swimming in her 6-9 month stuff but the length is much better. She was getting a little tall for the 3-6month things. Jon says he likes these clothes because they are starting to look like real people clothes but miniture. Not that I dont love it too, but he said it! hehehe

Oh and Kaitlyn has decided that she would much rather have big people food than pureed baby food. So lately she has been getting waffles, mashed taters, and pretty much anything I'm eating. She was eating fried rice with me yesterday for lunch and some of my cheeseburger the other night and even some of my hamburger helper the night before that. I make it with ground turkey so it's not that fattening hahahaha! She's really enjoying the foods though so I let her eat them.

Well yesterday I finally got the chance to do something with Kaitlyn's hair. She's so cute and I call her my "Little Onion." She's just amazing and beautiful and so much fun! Even if she does things and I get frustrated or angry or whatever. She's not doing thing maliciously, I know, but in her frustration I become frustrated. It's so hard being a mother or even a parent but it is also the most rewarding thing to see her smile, hear her laugh or help her develop a new skill.

Jon and I were thinking back last night and remembering the first few weeks when Kaitlyn was born. When we were crying with Kaitlyn, severely sleep deprived and just feeling like the most horrible parents. I remember wondering if we made a mistake in choosing to have kids and feeling so incredibly inadequate. Wow did we soon realize that this was more meant to be than ever. It scares me and saddens me to think my hormones were so crazy those first few weeks that I could think that way! I guess when you dont get good sleep and your baby doesnt sleep or stop crying you tend to think and act a little crazy!

I wouldn't change anything for all the riches in the world. I think that first time parent experience is something every woman or man need to go through. Jon and I both know how hard it is now and though it will be just as hard next time, we'll know to expect it!

Anyway, I'm just so happy I get to share my life with the two most wonderful people in the world, Jon and Kaitlyn (and the worlds best cats, Toto and Max)! Alright, I'm done being sappy!

One Small Crawl For Baby...

I realize it's been a bit since I've updated, but with Kaitlyn getting so frustrated trying to crawl and wanting to stand everywhere on everything, I haven't had much time!

Jon and I went upstate for our Annual Wedding Anniversary Bed & Breakfast trip to Cornerstone Victorian (www.cornerstonevictorian.com) we just LOVE it there!! Doug and Louise (the innkeepers/owners) are amazing, wonderful, great people. Kaitlyn joined us, of course, and really enjoyed Doug and Louise and their smiling personalities! The B&B house is so wide open and there is a lot of space so Kaitlyn had all kinds of room to crawl around. Which over the last two weeks has really come along. She doesn't have as much room here to crawl around and she did much more there than she does here. Anyway, she finally crawls! However, she only crawls over to get to something she can stand up with/on. Ha Ha! She is getting so much stronger at standing and she thinks she is so great and funny when she stands there holding with one hand and looking at us like, "Hey, look what I can do, nah nah!" She's great and she's going to be walking around in no time. She's doing very well at walking along the furniture and she walks around her little activity table too.

Lately, Kaitlyn has been working on her consonants too. She sticks out her tongue and makes a "P" or "B" type sound a lot and then she will babble a bunch of other things too. Hopefully she will be saying something soon, anything... Mama would be great though! ha ha!

Anyway, we just got home from upstate and we're all tired and Kaitlyn is cranky from the drive. I'll be sure to update more, now that she isn't going to be whining constantly from frustration.

First Official Fall

Well this morning was Kaitlyn's first official fall... right on her head! You see, Kaitlyn loves to hang over the front of the couch to play with the toys under the couch or on the floor. Usually I'm there to grab a leg if she starts to head over too far. This morning she had just finished her bottle at about 8:30am and I went to go get myself something to drink. I heard a clunk on the floor and looked over to see my daughter who landed right on top of her head and fell on the floor. She cried instantly so I guess I knew she was pretty much ok. I was very surprised at myself that I didnt freak out. I calmly went over and picked her up and made sure she was ok, checked her head and neck and she seemed fine. So I hugged her and told her it would be ok, I think she was more scared than anything. It's amazing... it only took her a minute or so to calm down because I was being very calm about it. I think had a freaked out she would have been much worse in calming. So thats was our fun this morning! The other thing she did this morning was remember where her books were and got them. The other night I was reading her books and I put them down in the little holder on the side of the couch. You can get to it from either side of the arm of the couch so she made her way over to the side of the couch and I thought she was just playing with toys. I looked over at her and she was pulling her books out from the side of the couch! There are other things in there too and she didnt touch those, just pulled out her books. She's so smart! I cant believe she remembered right where they were! YAY!

Anyway, the last couple days I've noticed Kaitlyn is getting herself back to sitting if she is on her back. She rolls over to her belly and gets on her hands and knees and she can get back sitting up by herself finally. Thats one thing she was having trouble with. She's still not crawling yet, and still getting mad as heck when she tries, but she's making progress... she just doesnt know it yet! She still gets around to get her toys since Mommy lets her whine on the floor instead of going and getting everything for her and moving her where she needs to go. I hate hearing her upset but I know that if she doesnt get upset she wont push herself to learn to do it. She does great scooting around on the floor but really doesnt notice because she wants to crawl or walk so bad. I noticed when I'm really not paying attention to her and she knows I'm not, she doesnt scream and whine, she just plays and moves around on her butt to get whatever she wants. So I let her spend time on the floor and go to the bathroom or get involved in something so she can concentrate on playing.

Oh Yesterday she did another thing to prove she has a good memory! I pulled out her table and set it in front of her with the Spoon (the only thing that comes off the table - it's a rattle too) on the opposite side from her. Well my smart little cookie leaned over the table and grabbed the spoon. She remembered that was the one that came off and she wanted it! Kids really are smarter and understand a lot more than we think!!

So everyday Kaitlyn is getting better and better at standing and pulling up. She loves to pull up on the white wire shelving we have in the bathroom (which means I need to get something to anchor it to the wall) and she does it great! She's also getting great at pulling up on her Exersaucer and this morning she actually pulled up on the couch! Usually she needs something to wrap her hand around but now she just used the couch to do it. Yesterday she had to prove mommy wrong too! She was standing next to her Exersaucer and playing (she doesnt like going in it anymore) and I kept telling her to "hold on" like I do constantly. Well she decided to show Mommy that she didnt need to hold on and she could stand there on her own. So she turned her little head to look at me across the room as I said "hold on, Baby" she lets go and holds her hands out to the side and stood there on her own for about 2-3 seconds and then smiled and grabbed the Exersaucer again. She's a smart ass already just like Mommy and Daddy! All that did was make me believe more and more that she will be walking in the next couple months!

Kaitlyn is done going for rides in her swing as well and it's time to put it away. Everytime she goes in it now she grabs the legs on the swing and stops herself so there is no point in that anymore. So we have a lot of stuff to store away before it starts to snow and get too cold out to put it in the garage.

Ohhhhhhh yeah! She's also getting GREAT at grabbing her little "puffs" and putting them in her mouth. Though I can only give her a couple at a time because she puts them all in her mouth! She's mostly using the "rake" method to get the food in her hand and then puts her entire hand in her mouth to get the food in there. She is getting more control of her arms though and once in a while gets then between her thumb and index finger. She's almost got it and everyday we practice, about three times a day. She started getting three meals a day on Monday and it's been working out great. She gets cereal w/apples in the morning, some Fruit and Veggies in the afternoon and then a "Dinner" at night. Last night she had Chicken & Rice dinner and she seemed to like it. Though I can pretty much put anything her her mouth and she eats it! She likes food, just like Mommy!

I think that about sums up the week... it seems like a lot happens in a little time lately. It's amazing how fast she catches on with things! I just love her and her accomplishments, she makes me the happiest person alive!

Stand, Stand, Stand... Busy, Busy, Busy

Well it amazes me at how just in the last couple days Kaitlyn has gone from trying to crawl to wanting to stand ALL the time and walk (with our help of course). She's already standing up by herself (pulling up on the couch and us) and she makes us walk her around... she cruised around Olive Garden yesterday afternoon. She keeps pushing off of us if we are holding her because she wants to stand on the floor and walk around.
Last night she was standing up next to me chewing on my couch cushions. She's nuts... she stands up in her crib now, even if I put her in there for only a minute! She's only 6 months old... she needs to chill, I still want her to be a baby not a 7 month old toddler! She HATES being on her hands and knees and SCREAMS bloody murder when she is and cant go anywhere... she doesnt mind kneeling which she does a lot too but she really wants to stand!



Well I really think that in the next few months she will be walking. She really is busy busy busy lately and has to be standing or having me walk her around. She wont even sit to play with me for very long anymore. If we sit and try to play with toys she just reaches out and grabs my shirt or arm or leg or anything to pull herself up with. Then she stands there holding on to me with one hand and trying to lean down and play... like that works! Ha! ha! She ends up falling on her booty most of the time.

Yesterday while we went out shopping, she sat in the back seat and "talked" the whole drive. It took us about a half hour to get where we were going and she just practiced talking the whole way there. It was great... but I'm still waiting to hear Mama! Anyway, we did go get her her big girl car seat yesterday. We got a Britax Marathon and it is a rear and forward facing car seat and goes to 65lbs! It will last awhile, which is great! Jon and I had bought a car seat a long time ago (before she was born) and thought it was a rear and forward facing one but apparently when we got it out recently we realized it was only a forward facing one that goes from car seat to booster seat (up to 100lbs). So we are going to hang on to it and if/when we have another baby we will use the Britax we just bought for the new baby and the booster one for Kaitlyn. Seeing is she will definitely be a year old and 20lbs (I hope) by the time we have another one.

Anyway, I guess I'll write again if she starts doing anything else like running a marathon or something!

Pulling Up

Well for the last week Kaitlyn has decided she would rather stand than crawl. She is still working on crawling and getting very very frustrated in the process. I feel bad for her but I know she needs to learn on her own. She's getting there though. She pulls up now on anything she can, especially the crib which, even though she doesnt spend much time in there, needs to be lowered because she loves that she can hold on and pull herself up. She kneels (stands on her knees) great now and does it all the time. She's getting so big and she's still so tiny.

Kaitlyn definitely knows some Baby Signs now, she does Daddy all the time and she can wave Hi but still working on mastering the opening and closing of her fingers. She knows Up and she lifts her arms to be picked up. She also seems to be doing a "come here" type sign. It looks like she is doing the same thing I do when I hold my palms up and open and close my hands and tell her to "come here" when she is working on crawling. When she sees something she wants she does the "come here" thing. It's cute and I like that she is actually using some of the signs we are teaching her. I really think it will help when she is a toddler and cant express herself well enough.

So Kaitlyn had her first New Years and she almost stayed up with us to watch the ball drop but she fell asleep and actually slept in her crib for about two hours before she started screaming and I went up to get her and brought her down to sleep with us. Thats where she has been sleeping for awhile now since she is too big to sleep in her bassinet anymore. I always said I would never co-sleep (in the same bed) because I was so worried about her suffocating but it's actually been great. She sleeps better and rarely wakes up with the little screams she used to wake up with. I'm slowly giving her a chance to sleep in her crib everynight but I'm not pushing it. I figure over the next few months we can work on her being in her crib. Right now, this is easier for all of us and we all get the sleep we need. She still wakes up about 3 or 4 times a night but thats a lot better than the 6 or 7 it was. She isnt waking long and mainly just needs her pacifier and a little pat from me and she goes right back to sleep so it doesnt distrub me to have her next to me. I think it would be worse if I had to run up and down the stairs 4 times a night just to give her a pacifier. This works for now and we'll work it out over the next few months.

I have no idea what to expect from this new year, Kaitlyn is going to grow up at lightening speed and I know it's going to be amazing to watch. I'm so excited that soon she will be crawling, walking and talking. I'm dying to hear her say "Mama."