I think I’ve mentioned more than a few times about using “Ladybug Picnic” to get Kayla to walk or crawl, and even to calm down and be quiet. I’m sure some of you have no idea what I’m talking about so I figured I’d just show you.
It was the only thing Gmama could find that would calm Kayla down when she babysat for us and they ended up playing it, over and over again. She smiles every time she hears the music start, and because of her love of it, it has spawned a whole plethora of toys and outfits with ladybugs on them.
Another thing she loves to watch on YouTube is anything Muppet related. She does seem more fond of Beaker, the Swedish Chef and Animal though. I guess because they all don’t really talk. Out of all the muppet videos though her favorite seems to be “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Oh yeah, all the muppets sing it. If you haven’t seen this video, you really should. Get to see all your favorite muppets singing a great song.
Actually, Gmama was the one that introduced both of these videos to us for Kayla. Go Gmama! At least Kayla isn’t watching Barney.
I’ve noticed that after a certain point it’s gotten harder to update my blog as much as I’d like to. (I’m constantly chasing after a crawling baby.) I also used to be able to have my laptop close by, and jot some things down while she rolled around on the floor playing with her many toys. Now she can crawl to me, pull her self up to stand using my legs as I sit at the couch, and pull the screen of my laptop backwards to check out what I’m doing. Hard to get anything written when you are playing “keep away” with a determined baby. Anyway, I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and finish the few sentences I’ve managed to get down. Let’s start with the beginning of the month shall we?
4th of July! Marshall got back in town the day before so luckily he wasn’t away on yet another holiday. Yippee! We celebrated the way most Americans do, by watching Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum kick some alien butt in the movie “Independence Day” and had been invited to a Bar-B-Que at Mollie’s parents house. Of course there was lots of yummy food, play time between the cousins (and their daddies too) and some fun in the pool! Kayla was sporting her patriotic pink camo bathing suit for her very first dip in a pool. I didn’t bring my own swim suit so I kicked off my sandals and put my feet in the water as Kayla was introduced to the water. She didn’t like it. She clutched on to us with a tight grip and wouldn’t stay sitting in the water. If she could have scrambled up our laps to escape I know she would have. Marshall was loaned a suit and he slipped into the water with a whining Kayla who was trying to scale him to be as far up from the water as possible. After a while of being held by daddy in the cool water on this hot day in July, she finally started to calm. Daddy taught her to splash a bit (getting eye fulls of water in the process) and at the end of their time in the pool, Kayla was reaching away from him splashing both hands through the pool. It really was a wonderful day, full of laughs from Kayla and Lilly’s expanding diapers from being the pool, and finger licking food like; stuffed jalapenos and ribs, but it was over all too soon. (And now Marshall’s drooling over getting a pool) Can’t wait to do it again!
Pool = Fun
It was just that next weekend that my sister, Beth and 3 of her kids dropped by for a visit! I haven’t seen Beth since my brother’s wedding 4 years ago, so it was wonderful to be able to see her again. It’s been even longer since I’ve seen my nieces and nephews! She was taking a road trip from D.C. to California, where she was going to spend the summer, then back to D.C. and making stops along the way and seeing pretty much everyone in the family. (Real big accomplishment since our family is large and scattered.) Mackenzie was already in Utah getting ready to start her first year at BYU so it was just Tabitha, Warren and Henry who came along for the trip. All of them are so much older (and taller than me in some cases) and it totally blew me away. They all have wonderful personalities and I’m glad I got to reconnect with all of them. They got here on Friday evening and where going to head out Sunday morning so we made sure to take them to all things Texan. Friday night we took them to a Rooster’s Roadhouse for some “redneck, white-trash, blue collar” BBQ and some homemade ice cream on the square at Beth Marie’s.
Henry, Tabitha, Warren, Beth, Me, Marshall and Kayla
The next day we stopped for breakfast at Old West Cafe for some real pancakes, then took them down to the Fort Worth Stockyards to get a real taste of Texas. The day was hot, being that it was in the high 90’s with the humidity somewhere in the 80’s but never the less we had a lot of fun! We walked down the historic site, took pictures of Henry riding a Texas Longhorn named “Big Jake”, laughed while Warren and then Henry tried to stay on as long as they could on a mechanical bull, and had some more great country cooking at the H3 Ranch. We got to see the moving of the Longhorn herd down the avenue, and we even shopped a bit, so they will be going some with some great Texas souvenirs. We went home exhausted and sweating from the heat but it was great day out. I hope I don’t have to wait as long to see them again.
Beth, Warren, Tabitha and Henry
Now just a few days ago, on Thursday the 15th, it was Marshall’s 28th birthday! He got his birthday gift before hand (like usual) of some new Maui Jim sun glasses that are perfect for when he goes on bike rides, and Mollie and Ryan were sweet enough to make the long drive to our place to watch Kayla that next night so we could go out and celebrate properly. Marshall’s pick of a restaurant was Pappadeaux’s for a wonderful seafood dinner. We took our time and had a great meal, laughing and talking, while trying our hardest NOT to talk about our daughter back at home playing with her cousin. (And sucking on Lilly’s toe at one point, or so we’ve been told.) It was great to get out of the house ALONE and has us craving more time like that. I’m totally looking into finding a babysitter close by so I can make this a more frequent occurrence! Thank you again you guys!
In the first 6 months of life, Kayla has grown up so fast. Milestone after milestone she’s mastered and we’ve been so excited with each one. Afterwards, we’re usually scared at the repercussions for this new found ability, or we get tired of it real quick. I still have to hide all electronic devices from her. If she sees something like the remote, but I hold her so she can’t get to it, she reaches and whines at me until it’s out of sight. Here I thought it was such a great thing when she started to bat at things and reach for toys too. Oy.
“What’s all THIS stuff?”
Now, at 8 months of age, she’s hit some major milestones after that 6 month marker that have us cheering and sobbing all at once. First, she was able to stay sitting up right before 6 months. We’d have to sit her up ourselves, but it was great for pictures so we had to qualms with this skill. It wasn’t long after that though that she learned the mechanics of getting into the sitting position by herself. That one we had some difficulties with. Do you know how HARD it is to change a diaper when all she wants to do is practice? All the wonderful handy items at the end of her changing table now became toys for her to reach for, or just to keep her occupied so she’d LAY STILL DANG IT!
“As soon as she’s not looking… “
Next, she gradually made her way to do some sort of crawl. It was kind of an army crawl but that left arm just wouldn’t get out of the way some times so she’d do some odd baby circles until she just rolled over and looked at us expectantly. It was a mix of rolls, army crawls and moving to the sitting position. (I assume it was for a better look at where she was trying to go.) Never the less, let’s just say she didn’t get far. (It’s hard to go anywhere when you can’t even go in a straight line. ) Typically we’d sit her down and coax her into learning to crawl and ending up with a stitch in our side from laughing. I’m sorry Kayla, but hey, your daddy didn’t even crawl so your already smarter then he was at your age.
Where you goin’? Nowhere!
Since that first tooth poked out and made itself known it opened the door to a whole new realm of possibilities with food. I’d GLADLY take a break, so getting her to eat solids was a fun daydream I had of where I was off in some nice spa getting a massage, while Marshall was getting pureed peas flung at him. Then of course we realized this was MY child and she’d rather feed herself. Too bad letting her get it on her index finger and draw on her highchair table didn’t solve her hunger so my dream (for now) vanished in a puff of smoke. Then I started to notice how she’d just start swallowing (and making an odd sound that sorta freaked me out) randomly. After she kept doing it, I got the idea of getting her some fingers foods designed to melt in baby’s mouth. First up: Biter biscuits! Hey, she had teeth right? Well, she’d bite it into too big of a piece and she’d end up choking a bit then spitting it back out, so a no go on those. I still had more choices though! Next we tried the “melt in your mouth” puff stars that had a wide variety of flavors. She’d get one in her pincer grasp (Hey another milestone!) but once she got in her mouth, she’d have a hard time getting it to un-stick from her own slobbery finger, and it would come right back out when she pulled her hand out of her mouth. Then came the cheese crunchies. Small enough not to choke, big enough that she could get a handle on the thing and Mmmmm tasty! Her favorite snack was basically baby Cheetos, but hey, at least she was feeding herself something! Now we’ve progressed and we can give her small bits of our own food and my dream is slowly coming back.. only now Marshall is dealing with scattered Cheetos. Not as fun considering the dogs love the things and would gladly help with the “clean up”.
“Mmmm Cheeto…”
Even after all these milestones she still has more to go. On June 22nd I sat her in her crib with nothing but a diaper on while I went to grab a onesie for her to wear. As I rounded the corner to return to her room, onesie in hand, I gasped and jolted at my daughters face peering back at me from over the crib railing where she was STANDING. As soon as she saw me, she started to laugh and giggle, obviously thinking it’s just as fun to scare me as her daddy does. Now, she could stand before this, but it had always been using one of our hands as the support to pull herself up. Finding her standing there waiting for my return, was a reality check on how soon she’d be MOBILE. Especially after we’d put one of our iPhones playing “Lady Bug Picnic” at the opposite side of the crib and watch she support herself and slowly make her way over to it. We realized we were in trouble. Didn’t stop us from taking pictures and videos though!
“I did it!”
Lastly, on the 30th of June, while Marshall was away on business, Kayla had her hands on my leg and I watched her slowly shuffle her knees closer to me in a crawling motion. I immediately paused and relayed this information to my wayward hubby, who demanded immediate proof of any crawling ability. (It’s almost like he didn’t trust me…) I placed Kayla back a few spaces, turned on “Lady Bug Picnic” and took a choppy video of her CRAWLING to get it. At first it was only a foot at a time. She’d crawl to get to a toy that moved just a bit too far from her, then it was to the couch, where she’d pull herself up and grab the remote from off the couch where I thought she wouldn’t be able to get it. Now she’s following me out of the room, chasing the dogs and getting into all sorts of things. Basically she’s exploring her world while she has us, her parents, having a mental breakdown. Ah, parenthood. Why did we want to do this again?
Two weeks ago was Father’s Day. While we spent the day giving our love and appreciation to the Father’s in our lives, the day had a special meaning as it was the first time Marshall got to celebrate it as a Father. I had already purchased his gift and sent it to him a week prior, because if you don’t know by now, I can’t seem to keep a gift secret. More on that later.
To celebrate Marshall’s new holiday, the day before we headed to Dallas Fair Park and spent the day at the Nature & Science Museum. We caught a TERRIBLE planetarium show, all about if there was life on other planets they may look like floating bubbles or giant insects. I thought planetarium shows were typically about stars, but I did find it amusing the narrator for the video was the actor who played Q on Star Trek: TNG. (Yes, I’m that much of a geek) Kayla starting getting a bit too antsy so I had to step out (I wasn’t that disappointed) before they actually moved on to the Texas Night Sky. I was disappointed to miss that one, and the fact Marshall didn’t get to see it. See, if you left the planetarium room while the show was going, you could not come back in until the show was done. Which didn’t make too much sense because I don’t know why I’d go back in if it was OVER anyway. Either way, Marshall decided to just leave and spend time with us instead. (Cue the “Awww”)
Mythical Theorized Balloon Aliens
The Water exhibit is in town and we learned many interesting facts about water, Marshall gushed about the small Darwin display, we had fun taking pictures of Kayla crying sitting on various items, laughed that they had a ASCII display for kids, and gazed up at the huge T-Rex skeleton. Marshall had wanted to go to a museum for quite a while so I’m glad we got to do this as a family on his special weekend. The next day we didn’t do much other than grab a buffalo and venison burger called the buffison, at Twisted Root Burger (As seen on Food Network). Other then that, we didn’t celebrate much more then spending time together.
Crying at the Museum
We got the whole family together on Thursday the 24th to celebrate the two new Dad’s in the family, Marshall and Ryan, and of the man who’s been there through the years as a father figure in the Culpepper family, Joe. Joe’s kids, Sheila and Derek of course came and we all had a wonderful time. Lilly cuddled up to everyone and snatched the bow off her own head then decided to move on to the one Kayla was wearing. Kayla wanted to show everyone how she learned to jump from her Papa Rick. I guess that was Kayla’s tribute to the missing dad who couldn’t be there.
Lilly & her daddy, Ryan
Now back to the gift I got Marshall. For as long as I’ve known Marshall he has always points out and drools over any Corvette he sees. Now whenever we see one on the road I’m always hoping he doesn’t notice so I don’t have to hear about it.. again. So when I was searching online for a father’s day gift I came across a site that sold thrill rides or a day racing cars. One of them being a Corvette. Needless to say I couldn’t help myself and I bought Marshall 10 laps in a Z06 Corvette at Texas Motor Speedway with an extra 5 laps with an experienced race car driver behind the wheel. That next week on Saturday the 26th, Kayla and I went and cheered him on in the hot Texas sun but it was worth it to see Marshall so happy. He even blogged about it! That is a serious compliment because he doesn’t blog often! Read more about that day at Arcaner.com.
Marshall revving up!
We had an eventful June and it was a wonderful way to finish off the month. Again I’d like to say how much I appreciate the father’s in my life. We love the way you’ve been there to fix things that get broke and deal with the scary spiders.
Well this last week has been pretty busy. Because Chase’s graduation was Saturday we had lots going on. (Marshall’s littlest brother) First of all Marshall’s dad was riding into town from Nashville for all the festivities and at one point would be staying with us. That of course made me go cleaning crazy, because that’s just what I do when we have company, go crazy. Marshall really should learn to just keep his head down when I’m cleaning for company, I go completely nuts and it becomes a war zone. I expect only “Yes ma’am” and “No ma’am” from him during this time. Don’t worry, by lunch time on Thursday I had stopped the cleaning panic and offered up a “lunch truce” and made my reparations.
Friday night we went to the customary Culpepper hangout for such an occasion, Siciliano’s Taste of Italy. We ate lots of garlic knots, listen to the mandolin player and celebrated Chase making it out of High School alive. The cousins played with each other some, and at one point Kayla was being passed around the table like a salt shaker. It was a wonderful night of catching up and all around fun.
I don’t know what’s happening here really.
Saturday was Chase’s big day, and it started EARLY. Since his graduation started at 8am, we made sure to leave the house with enough time to get there, park and find the seats. Which was mega early in my opinion. We left the house before Kayla’s typical wake up time so she wasn’t the happiest camper when we left either. We got to be there for the most important parts and got some video before Kayla just got too fussy. We took her out to the car to feed her and maybe get her to nap, but as soon as she was fed she became this bundle or joy in the car. We tried going back in with some trouble but caught the throwing of the caps and headed outside like cattle to take some pictures before heading to some breakfast.
Cap Toss!
Sunday we had everyone over to celebrate Shannon’s birthday. We had her pick of food which was a wonderful brunch of waffles and the usual breakfast side dishes. After eating we watched the baby cousins have their first fight over toys, watched them share a toy and we all played “Just Dance” on the Wii. I think watching them play this game was almost as fun as watching them play “Guesstures”. Marshall has NO dancing abilities, so watching him and listening to him keep muttering while he tried to dance made me laugh. Ryan got completely into it and Mollie and I were weary of fully getting our “groove” on. They even busted out “Rockband” at one point and I had witness to the first Culpepper band.
Just Dance on the Wii – Eye of the Tiger
After everyone headed home, Marshall’s dad stayed with us for the night. They had a “hacking session” while the women of the house took a nap. Considering Kayla got woken up before her usual time and from her naps quite a few times in the last couple days, both of us were quite tired. We spent some time with Marshall’s dad and after dinner Kayla found a new game to play with Papa Rick which sent us into hysterics because she kept it up for so long.
I’m glad this weekend is over, it was a lot of fun but I was exhausted! There is quite a bit of videos and photos, so make sure to visit those pages if you want to see them. Lots of the cousins, Chase’s graduation and Kayla just being silly. Either way, lots of good stuff!
For the last couple months I had been waiting for the day when Kayla would finally get a tooth. She showed some of the classic signs for teething; like drooling and wanting to chew on EVERYTHING. Whenever she was fussier then normal or didn’t sleep well, teething was a possible culprit we just couldn’t catch red handed. I just couldn’t wait for her to finally get some cute little chompers. I got ecstatic when right after 6 months I saw something in the gum line that hadn’t been there before! I was glowing with pride when the doctor said she was probably teething since her gum line looked red and irritated. Then the REAL teething began.
Fussy child
For a week or maybe more, Kayla had become a handful because of what I assumed was teething pain. She was always wanting to nurse, waking up more frequently, and generally fussy. I never looked forward to the weekend more because the prospect of Marshall taking her off my hands for a while danced in my head. I started to give her Baby Orajel, which at first didn’t seem to work. I checked some on-line sites for teething which had some moms saying they swore by the stuff, and an equal amount thinking it was useless. I used ibuprofen when she got really bad, but I hated having to use it too often, so I went back to the Baby Orajel, thinking maybe I was doing something wrong with it. After another close examination of the directions on the back, I began to think I just wasn’t giving enough. Small pea sized drop? I was using probably a needle point drop of the stuff. I used a bit more and it seemed to work but it could have been other things I was trying so I wasn’t convinced.
One day I tried it on myself. I taste her baby food, so why not? Baby Orajel wasn’t going to hurt me and it would solve the puzzle of if it really worked. I took a very small needle point drop of the stuff and rubbed it on the outside gums of my front teeth. I understand why she makes a face and starts smacking her lips after you give her the stuff now. I don’t know how, but I numbed the tip of my tongue a tad and I probably looked very similar to her trying to understand why her mouth tingled. I can tell you with complete conviction now, Baby Orajel works. At least on me. It didn’t last long, or truly numb anything for me to the point where I couldn’t feel anything, but on a baby? Sure, I can see it helping with some pain. I wonder if any other moms out there have just TRIED the damn stuff. I went back to using less, totally didn’t need more then what I had previously been using. I may be odd for trying it out myself, but it’s much nicer then second guessing the stuff all the time.
About a week ago, on the 24th, she woke up and seemed to be in a MUCH better mood. Went down with a fuss at nap time and was all giggles and smiles. I thought we were getting a nice reprieve from her teething pain. After half the day had passed, I checked her teeth and that’s when I noticed the fine line of a tooth had finally cut it’s way fully through her gums. We had a bit of relief for a few days before it started up again, but now you can see the tops of her two bottom front teeth peeking through. Now she’s back to getting fussy, and clings to me like no tomorrow when in pain, but at least she has teeth. Somehow, that isn’t as wonderful as it was before…
When I got pregnant, I read and was told by several people, about how people will invade your space by touching your belly. I agreed that something like that would be annoying but it really didn’t happen with people I didn’t know. Considering how many people I talked to in a retail job, I thought that was pretty good. I did have one lady promptly ignore me, bend over slightly, and start talking to my belly once, I just thought that was hilarious though. I welcome her into the store and my unborn baby gets the greeting back.
See the thing is, I don’t remember anyone telling me of the touchy people that come out of the woodwork and touch my BABY. I don’t know you, and yet you feel it’s okay to touch my baby? I have issues with that. It seemed to start when Kayla went from being confined to the carrier on most outings, to being held on my hip or sitting in a cart. I guess that’s the “TOUCH THE BABY” green light for some people since she’s more out in the open. Weeks ago, I had Kayla in nothing but a light green onesie, that said “My dad’s a Geek”, sitting on my hip, on a very hot day as we made a quick stop into a Home Depot. While Marshall swiped his card and paid, the cashier came over, starting pinching at Kayla’s leg and saying in “baby talk” that she needed to “wear pink so we know she’s a girl.” Kayla showed all the signs that she DIDN’T like this random lady in her face, but the lady paid no heed and promptly got screamed at by Kayla. It had me turning away and covering my laugh because it’s what she deserved. Number 1: Don’t touch the baby. Number 2: My baby can wear whatever damn color I want. And when she grows up I’m certainly not going to tell her she needs to “only wear pink and dresses or she’ll be confused for a boy”. >:(
Papa Joe & Auntie Shay holding the cousins: Pass
Yesterday I went to the store to grab a few things. I was already annoyed with the store since they couldn’t seem to stay off the intercom for more then a few minutes, and the lady checking tags on one aisle didn’t seem to want to move so I could get what I needed. Then when I was picking up a pack of soda, two ladies speaking Spanish started to pass by me, but the younger of the two stopped and went to Kayla and started stroking her! As I straightened and moved to intercept her, she moved off and starting chatting again with her friend. She just decided she wanted to touch Kayla and completely ignored me in the process. I was obviously upset about this, and sat there shocked as she just walked away like she did absolutely nothing wrong.
Daddy & Baby: Pass
I continued my shopping, and not long after that a woman I had seen around the store as I shopped, came up to me. She flat out asked me if she could “hold my baby.” I was stunned. Seriously? I asked her “why?” which as I look back on it now is kind of a dumb question, but stand to reason I was just stunned stupid. She pulled her hands closer to herself, almost as if she was cuddling a nonexistent baby and told me she “just wanted to hold her” and “she’d stand right here” as I shopped. I don’t care where you stand, I didn’t know her, didn’t know if she’d run off with Kayla as soon as she got the chance, and I also didn’t know what kind of health she was in! I told her I was leaving anyway, and hightailed it out of there because at this point I was just creeped out.
Crazy Cat Lady: Fail
I’m sure most of these touchy, feely people are wonderful, but touching and asking to hold random babies? Does that lady ever had any success with that? Didn’t anyone ever tell these people the non-written rules of “baby etiquette”? I’ve never touched another persons baby that I didn’t know just because I thought they were cute, just like I wouldn’t go pet a baby bear cub just because it was so adorable. It’s asking for trouble. So, a big “Thank you!” to all those respectful people, who look at Kayla almost vibrating with the need to cuddle her, but just sit back and say things like “She’s SO CUTE!” and try to make her smile at them with absolutely no luck. I like to know that my baby is adorable, (I made her myself ya’know.) and I genuinely appreciate that you haven’t taken to petting my daughter.
When Gmama and Papa Joe babysat Kayla just last week, she faked crying pretty much the whole time she was there. On Wednesday the 12th, when we went to a banquet in honor of some of the Seniors graduating from High School, Kayla gave the most pathetic cry when being held by Daddy. She was looking over at me giving this obviously fake cry while reaching out for me. I just wanted to eat! I guess we’ve breezed right into the separation anxiety stage of things. I dub her “Velcro baby” now.
Obviously, Kayla’s new behavior was something to comment on, but really the big topic is Chase! The Waterbrook Ministry Center threw a banquet for all the Seniors in the youth RUSH group and we went out to cheer on Chase. He’s graduating from Rowlett High school in June and going off to Baylor College. I’m sure a certain Gmama couldn’t be prouder he’s going to her Alma mater either. He’s going to be studying Computer Science, which means I’m sure, that during family gatherings Marshall and him will be talking about stuff that will go completely over my head. A bunch of techno babble I’m sure will put Kayla and I to sleep. I may be a geek, but when you start spouting equations like O(n²), which has actually been thrown at me in a conversation, I start to zone. Excuse me, it’s not an equation, it’s a NOTATION, as I’ve just been informed. I hate math. So to Chase! I wish you the best of luck, but I doubt you’ll need it!
Brothers Celebrating: Ryan, Chase, and Marshall
I’ve also just recently set it up where you can receive an email every time I update my blog for anyone out there what wants it. I’ll still post and tweet when I update, this is just going to be another option for the few people I know that don’t use either service. (Or just would prefer an email.)
After working during any available free time for months, doing several equations that he explained to me, and STILL had me looking at him like he was crazy, testing and retesting, Marshall finally finished and put his Iphone application up for review to get into the app store. Well on May 10th, after almost a week of waiting, DartPal was finally accepted! Not only did he make the application, but as his job, he also makes the platform that helped him make the app. Heck, he’ll probably get it up on Android in a week or so as well. He did an awesome job and I am very proud of everything he’s accomplished. If anyone has an Iphone and uses the Dart, you should really check it out.
Alright, obviously it was Mother’s day on the 9th which was last Sunday. Last year on Mother’s day I was in my second trimester of my pregnancy and I remember teasing Marshall about how I deserved a gift because I was on my WAY to being a mom but he didn’t buy it. Heck I didn’t even get a “push” gift. (A gift given after giving birth.) Women have manufactured many ways to get gifts out of our men, I think it’s only appropriate we get one for enduring 9 long months and then hours in labor for bringing a child into the world. Kind of a “good job” and “thanks” for bringing my progeny into the world. Although I do think the men deserve something too for dealing with hormonal women wanting all manner of food at odd hours.
After only being a mom for little over 6 months, I completely get why they gave us a DAY. This year was special though because 7 years ago, on Mother’s day, Marshall and I were married. Meaning not only was I celebrating my first official Mother’s day, I was also celebrating 7 wonderful years of marriage on the same day. It really was a big day for us. So what did we do? First Marshall actually woke up early, (It’s a miracle!) and we had breakfast at my favorite place for pancakes. Old West Cafe was packed and we had to deal with people standing around our table that were still waiting to get a seat, but the specialty pancakes are definitely worth it.
Later that day we packed up Kayla’s bag, and the kitchen sink, and headed to the babysitters; Gmama and Papa Joe. I’d have probably felt a lot worse about having her watch Kayla for us if we hadn’t already celebrated Mother’s day with her last week, but it still made me laugh a bit. “I appreciate you, and all you’ve done in raising the son I married, but can you babysit?” It also figures that Kayla seems to be eating a lot more lately, which could either be a growth spurt or she’s just reached the point where she needs to eat more a day but is still hasn’t taken to the spoon and solids quite yet. Either way it made for a fussier Kayla who seemed to want to eat way too often.
We went to a wonderful hibachi restaurant called Kyoto Japanese Steakhouse and took a our time actually eating and talking. Something we haven’t had the privilege to do since Kayla’s birth. I tried my first piece of sushi, red snapper, and it wasn’t bad actually. I expected to eat half and give the rest of it to Marshall, but it wasn’t the cold, slimy, fishy taste I was expecting at all. After our leisurely dinner, we made a quick stop in to Gmama’s so I could feed Kayla, she had played for a while but mostly just was testing her grandparents patience, then we went to see Iron Man 2 in IMAX. I had almost forgotten how great it is to see a movie in a theater, it was a great movie even though we were packed in there like sardines. We rushed back to Kayla to find she fake cried mostly and calmed when she watched the “Ladybug Picnic” song from Sesame Street a dozen or so times. After I fed her she was out for the count. I could have held her upside down and she wouldn’t have woken up. I guess keeping up her “upset” facade for Gmama and Papa Joe wore her out. A big “THANK YOU” to them for watching her (and dealing with her) on our big day.
On a side note, the Friday before Mother’s day, we had good news. In March, we had put in a order for a Chevy Equinox and it finally arrived! Oh yeah, the geeked out mommy mobile was here. We swapped the cars, signed the papers and we drove home in my new car. We weren’t expecting it yet, but it was a great gift for our dual event. It kind of makes the book I got Marshall (Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share) look pretty pathetic in comparison…
Anyway, I’ve finally had a chance to sit down and finish the few sentences I’ve managed to get down. Let’s start with the beginning of the month shall we?
Thank you again you guys!
) Typically we’d sit her down and coax her into learning to crawl and ending up with a stitch in our side from laughing. I’m sorry Kayla, but hey, your daddy didn’t even crawl so your already smarter then he was at your age. 
