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! 

While Daniel and Marshall just recently met, they shared a lot in common.  They both are software developers, have met at several meetups for similar interests, but most of all they both had baby girls about the same age.  That’s why it’s heartbreaking to find out that at the beginning of the week, his daughter Margot, had been rushed to the hospital because of a foreign object stuck in her throat obstructing her breathing.  After days of watching their daughter seizing and dealing with the fact she might possibly be brain damaged from the lack of oxygen, she finally passed on August 13th.  A little girl only 3 months older than my own.

It’s heartbreaking to see pictures of this little girl in the same big bows that I dress Kayla in, a girl who’s first steps were only 8 days prior to her death.  Needless to say our shock at something like this hit very close to home.  The pain of even thinking about this kind of loss is staggering.  I can’t even fathom the things they must be going through, and really, I don’t want to.  They made some hard decisions and even though their sweet little girl has just passed, they donated her organs to those in need.

Sweet little Margot has saved a 2 year old girl with her heart, 1 year old girl with her liver, and a 26 year old man with her kidneys.

]]> http://turnofthepaige.com/?feed=rss2&p=464 2 http://turnofthepaige.com/?p=444 http://turnofthepaige.com/?p=444#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:20:33 +0000 Paige http://turnofthepaige.com/?p=444 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.

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!

“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? 

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. 

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!

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!

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.

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.)