Today I had one of those silly baby moments, where even as Kayla was doing something she’s not supposed to and ended up making a mess, I was laughing and giggling over it the whole day.  Since Kayla started crawling we’ve eventually worked out a way to keep her in a central area.  We’ve moved things around the living room in front of the television to create a place for Kayla to play and for Mommy and Daddy to watch something while still keeping an eye on her.  The coffee table was moved to the side to block off one area and use couch cushions from the love seat to block off everything else.  Not Fort Knox or anything, and truthfully, she can escape if motivated enough, which isn’t too often.  When she does escape, we usually applaud her ingenuity or strength (or bemoan it), and let her explore and play with her a bit by crawling around the house with her.

Today, Kayla decided to make a break for it a little while after breakfast.  She pulled down one of the pillows that blocked her escape under the coffee table and went up and over the legs of wood connecting the table legs together before hurriedly crawling away – all the while giggling like a mad baby.  I of course thought it was just adorable, so I hauled her up, grabbed the camera and set her in front of the area again hoping for a repeat performance to catch on video.  Holding her back from going and then trying to get the camera out in time to get the video, but not letting her SEE the camera (she’ll change trajectories if she sees it) was actually quite hard.  As such I only got her butt going up and over to the other side when everything was all said and done.

Well, after a couple not so stellar attempts, I gave up and left her outside her “cage” as I turned to put the camera away for later.  As my back was turned I started to hear Kayla making drinking noises.  Sippy cup was on the opposite side of the table so as I turn with a big question mark hovering over my head, I see she’s managed to snag MY cup from the coffee table.  It had been too far back for her to grab when on the inside, but as an escapee, it was in baby snatching range.  Camera in hand, I do what any good mom would do.  I snap a picture.  She was doing really well all by herself too, it wasn’t until I got the picture that she let more water than she wanted come out and soak the front of her clothing, mainly because she was paying more attention to me then the task of drinking at the point.  I then hurry over and she is trying to set the cup back up and it’s almost there… before it tips the opposite direction Kayla and spills water all over the coffee table.

I’m giggling at this point, constantly thinking of “Bill Cosby’s: Himself” routine where his daughter keeps drinking his soda as I’m rushing to get a towel.  Kayla is still happy as can be, even though her entire front is soaked, she’s happily splashing the puddle of water on the table and doing her high baby shriek of a baby doing something naughty and loving it.   As her personality keeps showing itself more and more, I just know I’m in for some trouble.  She’s such a sneaky baby! 

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.

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? 

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…

Can you see ‘em?

Teeth-hance!

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.)

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…

I remember the first time I saw Kayla reach out for a toy and bat at it like a cat.  I thought it was adorable.  I was proud when she grabbed that toy, pulled it closer and shook it for all she had.  I melted inside when she reached out for me wanting to be held in my arms.  It was cute, made me proud, and made me feel like I had the best life in the world just by looking at my sweet little angel reach out.

Now, as I try to feed her she’s almost completely backwards in her chair trying to get napkins or anything in range really.  As I hold her on my hip she’s trying to drop down and almost tackle the dog sitting at my feet.  If I leave her range of sight she’s screaming with hands reaching towards me and well.. it’s not as cute anymore.  Of course it’s cute when she’s in a good mood or when she’s trying to get a toy and not the remote away from you, but I’ve realized I have officially passed into the phase of parenting where you just give up whatever it is they want just to stop the screaming.  Nothing is mine anymore.

“Parents aren’t interested in justice – they want QUIET!”  -Bill Cosby

Lots has been going on in the last couple weeks.  Some of which I couldn’t talk about yet.  Two weeks ago on April 21st, Marshall and I packed up the baby and met his siblings out at Fujitsu field to remake a 18 year old photo of all of them in the Bluebonnets for a Mother’s Day gift.  We got together Sunday to celebrate and we of course gave her the gift so now I can finally talk about it.   Marshall and I got there first, because we agreed to make sure the field had the requisite flower since none of us had actually been there yet.  Since we got there before anyone even left, we had lots of time.  Which is also why we took Kayla’s Easter dress and set out to get some of the standard “baby in the Bluebonnet” pictures.  We forgot her Bumbo seat, so she would have to sit up on her own and did so wonderfully, and without a fuss the entire time.  Well, she tipped over once and in the process almost ate a flower.  (Daddy had to dig the petals out of her mouth.)  Needless to say the pictures are precious.  Why doesn’t every state do this?  It’s too cute.

The pictures for the siblings were great as well!  They made sure to get everything as close as possible to the original and it turned out pretty awesome if I do say so myself.   I wrapped the old and new picture in their frames and we all got together Sunday to wish Mom a happy Mother’s Day at Spring Creek BBQ and give her the present.  She was thrilled with it.  I’m glad we could all coordinate our schedules enough to get together and get the picture.

On April 28th, Kayla turned 6 months!  The day after I noticed a white spot on her gums, and since we had her 6 month check up the next day her doctor confirmed it, she’s officially cutting teeth.  She is also in perfect health.  I don’t know how we’ve have such a healthy baby, but so far we’ve had no ear infections or even the slightest sniffle. Not that I’m complaining but I keep wondering when the other shoe is going to drop.  She’s evened out in the length department and is now in the 50th percentile at 25½” inches, gotten chubbier in weight (It’s all in the cheeks! I swear it!) at 15.1 pounds which puts her in the 40th percentile, and she still doesn’t have Marshall’s massive head since she’s still in the 55th percentile and holding.

Yesterday we all had a busy day.  Since the baby turned 4 months and she decided sleeping was going to be sporadic, I’ve fallen behind on the normal household chores.  Since this house is so big, I kept looking around at everything I had to do and just about hyperventilating.  As sort of a Mother’s Day/Anniversary gift we got a maid to come in and do a spring cleaning.  I also took the dogs in to get groomed since (one of the things causing me stress) Odin was leaving “puddles” of black fur all over the house.  It was just EVERYWHERE.  You’d think the long haired dog would be the one we would have to worry about.  I guess we know better now.  I also ran several errands so every nap Kayla had yesterday was in the car.  Marshall was busy working on a software release for his company, so he was hard at work plugging away at his computer with his head down all day.  The house looks wonderful and the dogs look.. well, Odin looks slightly funny since he got shaved, but both look pretty spiffy.

Kayla is fascinated with electronics.  When she finally learns to crawl or walk I’m almost 100% sure it’s going to be in pursuit of something shiny, with lots or buttons, and probably a LCD screen.  Or maybe a tag.  Don’t know get how the last one is at same level of a IPhone or Harmony remote either, but for Kayla the draw is the same.  While just holding her on the couch we have to hide any electronics so she won’t physically lunge for them.  The first time she got out of her bumbo seat was a cunning maneuver with the remote as her goal.  That incident only yielded her turning on the PS3 before we came to her “rescue” and left us with a fussy baby because we took away the fancy toy.

My IPhone has become our child’s pacifier, Marshall’s laptop her “whack-a-mole” game and the Harmony remote her rattle.   We seek to save our precious electronics of course!   To that end, we’re thinking of buying one of those cop-out baby toy laptops or cell phones, but I have a feeling she’ll just end up throwing those on the ground after she flails it around like the 3 sets of keys she has, thinking it funnier to watch Mommy play “fetch and sanitize”.  I seek advice.  Should we buy these bright, big button “replicas” or just get used to her slobber on pretty much everything expensive we own?  I really hope warranty plans cover “acts of children”.