I think for Kay the best part of our Santa trip was blowing him kisses from a distance. She walked up to every kid in line and said hi and gave out hi-fives. Once it came time to sit on Santa's lap the scene changed. We were successful in getting the screaming child Santa picture. Once her thumb went in the mouth things were bearable, but still no smile until she ran back into my arms afterward!
Kay and her friend Adaline spent some time together a few weekends ago. The girls are so cute and really have fun together. Kay kept pointing at Adalines belly button the whole time. Adaline loved giving Kay snuggles. Their friend Laurel gave them a new toy. The girls had fun trying to figure out the wrapping paper together!
Kay continues to love helping us make dinner. She helped fix everyone's plate with salad a few nights ago. She loves anything she can make a mess with!
Oh my have we been busy! About three weeks after getting my car fixed from the accident I had while Craig was in China a man ran a red light and totaled Craig's car. We are so thankful everyone has been ok in all of our accidents so far this year. We are now pros at dealing with insurance and have a "new to us" car. We were a little stressed having to buy a car so quickly (four days). Normally we look around for a long time. We spent the entire first two snow days of the season cleaning the new car. We got a great deal on it, but with it came a lot of dirt. I don't think they ever cleaned it! It was very cold, but really really needed to be cleaned so we could drive it.
We spent the next weekend plumbing our kitchen sink. We had a leak for several days that we needed to deal with. Although we both would have rather been relaxing, I can say Craig and I did enjoy a little project again. We used to do so many around the house together. Projects are a great way to talk and spend time together. We have learned a lot of skills by owning this house!
Kay got another ear infection, I came down with a bad case of strep throat, and Craig ordered his first pair of glasses. Kay was then sent to the specialist and I was turned away from the drug store clinic because my heart rate was so high. A couple doctors later and I am feeling great, Kay now has tubes, and Craig will be able to see better!! This morning we woke up really early to get her to the surgery. She was a little scared while they did the weigh in and temperature. She went back with the doctor without a peep. After the surgery she was really scared and cried the entire way home. She is doing much better now. Her ears were pretty yucky with infection so I am glad we went ahead and did the tubes. I hope I do not have to send my baby away again any time soon! It brought back memories of leaving the hospital without her. Here is Kay waiting patiently for her surgery.
We drove Kay to a house we discovered last year. This house has tons of lights that all light up with three different songs. We got Kay out of her car seat so she could see the show. She LOVED it. I can't wait for next year. I think she will appreciate it even more! Craig took some of his coworkers that were visiting from China to the same house. He wanted to show them a little bit of an American Christmas. I think they also really enjoyed seeing some of the holiday celebrations.
Kay has really started enjoying coloring. She thinks it is so neat that as she moves the marker over the paper it leaves a mark. Here she is coloring with dad.
I just purchased the best item ever off craigslist! I found this adjustable step stool that is the perfect kitchen counter height. Kay loves being able to see what is going on. My arm used to get so tired trying to hold her so she could see. Now, she is able to stand up and help us with dinner. Here is is helping to make a pie and shred cheese. Craig is really excited to make "Mimi" biscuits with her soon.
Kay spent a lot of time with Craig last weekend. Now that she is able to walk, it is so much more fun to play outside. Craig took Kay to play basketball at our neighborhood playground. She did have fun with the basketball, but I think she had more fun playing with the leaves.
Kay and her cousins Charlotte and Will had a blast together this weekend. They had a special visit from their great aunt Pat and got to play together for several hours. The favorites of the day were Kay and Charlotte "talking" on the two toy phones and all three of the kids playing us a lovely song on the piano.
Kay was very interested in Laurel. She did great with not getting upset while I was holding her. It was very entertaining to watch Kay pull Laurel's socks off constantly. I am trying to work with her to teach her to touch the baby feet and avoid the face. Here is a small video of Kay saying hi to Laurel.
Kay is walking all over the place now. We went to her therapist yesterday and she is pretty much dismissed. They will watch her once a month for awhile just to make sure she is continuing to get the skills every child gets like running, jumping, etc. The therapist wanted to see her walk, squat to pick something up and stand back up, stand up without using anything for support, and walk turning around or in a circle. Kay passed all this week. Now, we just wait for her to get stronger and start to use walking full time. She now continues to crawl when she wants to get somewhere fast. I would say she is up to walking maybe 70% of the time. We had her practice with walking on a squishy mat. She found it more fun to fall and bounce on it than practice walking. Our homework is to have her practice walking on softer, uneven surfaces like mulch in the next few weeks.
Kay also loves to go down the stairs now. She has the concept down and knows how to do it. We have to watch her closely because she likes to treat it like a slide and slide down instead of stopping herself with her feet.
Today at lunch Kay was throwing her food on the floor (like always) and I told her no (like always) only this time she looked at me with her big blue eyes, blew me a kiss, and clapped. Oh man... now I have to learn to not get wrapped around her little finger! Kids are just so cute!
Kay loves hanging out with her friends Sarah Bess and Davis. Although this picture is very blurry it shows just how much she fun she has. The kids were all piling on top of Jimmy and Kay was giggling up a storm. Hannah and Jimmy watched Kay for us for a few hours over the weekend. Hannah shared a funny story about Kay. When Kay saw Sarah Bess standing on a chair she pointed, said "uh oh" and "sit down". I guess she knows the rules. Now, we just have to get her to follow them!
Mommy, I want a doggy! I am waiting for those words to come out of Kay's mouth some day. Again, this picture is blurry but it shows how excited she was to have Molly sitting beside her in the car. She kept pointing at her and saying "dog" over and over again. I think she attempted to make a barking sound but it sounded more like a sheep "baaaaa".
Ok, I admit...I am not the best singer. Thankfully, 1 year olds can't tell the difference and Kay thinks it is great when I sing! When I sing in the car she nods her head along with the music and claps the entire time. At least someone thinks I can sing pretty!
I love every time I put my car in reverse and turn around to back up. This is what I see. How can that not make you smile??? Kay finally hit the 20 pound mark and we were able to turn her car seat around. We waited as long as we could because we know rear facing is the safest. Her legs were getting so long they were squished on the seat. She LOVES being able to face forward and watch us.
We had a great visit with Nana and Pops this weekend. Scott, Annelise, Will and Charlotte came over to play on Saturday. We had Kay'sfirst dental cleaning appointment, ate tacos, and hung out as a family.
Pops showed pictures and videos from his recent visit with cousin Hazel and Cousin Miles. He had several videos of Hazel singing and Kay would smile really big and clap every time when she was finished. Here she is clapping at the tv while watching Hazel.
Kay had a lot of fun with Nana and Pops. It took her a little while to warm up, but by the end of the weekend she was giggling non-stop with them.
Who came up with the idea of day light savings? When you there is a child in the house it makes for a rough transition. When your child already wakes up early, falling back an hour just means an even earlier wake up! We took a walk to the grocery store and Kay was so tired from the adjusted time that she fell asleep in the stroller. It has been months since she has done that. Now, when in the stroller she won't close her eyes at all because she doesn't want to miss anything! Last night was rough again. I am hoping she will adjust quickly.
We had a very uneventful Halloween. Craig flew home from China the afternoon of the 31st. Kay and I picked him up at the airport in her bumble bee outfit. We were glad to have him home, but the entire family was so tired we were in bed and asleep before 8 pm. We only had one group of trick-or-treaters before we turned the lights out.
When Craig got home he was impressed with how far Kay had come with her walking. She is now able to walk across a room, walk and slow herself down to look at something (instead of just diving into a piece of furniture to stop herself), and can stand up without holding onto anything. Now, we just have to wait until she gets fast enough at walking that she picks that as her method of getting around. We are almost there!
Kay now knows nose, ear, and sometimes belly. She is stacking blocks up and talking up a storm. She still babbles at anything, but now she is starting to make some sense. It is amazing how much she understands. After the shower she will bring me my towel and then my robe. One day I did not put my slippers on and she crawled over and brought my slippers right to my feet one at a time- so cute! Whenever I get my purse she will crawl over to my shoes because that comes next. If we talk about bath she starts saying "ba" over and over again, squealing in excitement. She still flirts with everyone in the store. She is having a little bit of separation anxiety when we drop her off at the church nursery. The most exciting accomplishment is she has pooped in the potty three times! Kay will make a face and point at her diaper when she has to go. If we are close by and can catch her we put her on her little green potty and she will go! She is so far from this being a regular occurrence, but she definitely recognizes the feeling and is willing to let us try it.
We take Kay to a home daycare that we absolutely love. The ladies that watch the kids are so sweet and love the kids so much. Sometimes Kay is so excited to go that she won't even tell Craig kiss goodbye in the morning, she is too busy trying to see Ms. Melinda and Ms. Lora. Thankfully, we know she still wants to come home with us instead of stay there because she always squeals in excitement when she sees me come in the door. I know she loves it there and they take great care of her.
The good thing about daycare is I often get little surprises about new things that Kay has learned....
I brought Kay home last week and tried to wipe her runny nose. When I put the tissue up to her nose she blew in it and then squealed with excitement. Thank you daycare for teaching Kay how to blow her nose! It makes life so much easier! Now, we just have to teach her what is appropriate to blow her nose on. She thinks it is so fun that she picks up everything in sight and practices...gross...we are working on that...
I asked daycare when they start putting the kids on mats to sleep because I thought it might be a good idea to practice some at home to help with the transition. Well, I learned that she was already taking one nap a day there and they were transferring her once she was asleep to a mat like all the big kids. Thank you daycare for teaching Kay how to take one nap a day and making my life easier!
Today, Kay came home with a baby pumpkin (the kids decorated them). Kay's pumpkin had no decorations (Ms. Melinda said she wasn't into the decorations). She held the pumpkin up when I picked her up to show me. She was so proud of it! Thank you daycare for teaching Kay to appreciate a masterpiece (even if it had no decorations on it!)
Kay met with her physical therapist last week. She and I had a discussion on how I thought she wasn't walking because we were pushing her to do it and she is starting to protest (she is starting to let us know how she feels about things!) When I would try to make her hold my hand to walk somewhere she would get really mad and cry on the floor. So, we decided to take a few weeks off and see what happened. Well, sure enough, she is now testing the waters on walking! Her therapist has been saying for weeks that she is stable enough to walk across the room, she just isn't brave enough to do it. She is so stable she can pull her push toy with one hand and turn it wherever she wants. She barely holds onto one finger and can walk all the way down the street. This week she has taken several attempts of about 4-5 steps at a time. She has even started walking toward the center of the room vs. headed toward a piece of furniture to catch herself.
I have been standing at the ready with my camera to catch her steps. Here are a few I caught this morning!
GG (Great Grandma), the next two posts are for you! I went a little video crazy because I know you always request them!
I am not sure I am going to be able to call Kay my "baby" any more. I keep doing it and Craig keeps saying, she isn't a baby anymore! She has changed so much over the past couple weeks.
Poor thing is already having the same trouble I have with clothes. The clothes that are small enough for her waist are so short! Welcome to the world of high waters! I put these pants on this morning and it made me laugh. I think I am going to have to start figuring out how to tailor her pants so she can keep the longer ones on!
Kay is also getting really good at getting stuck in really small spaces. She is always trying to crawl behind furniture to try to get lost toys. She then discovers she is stuck and can't get out!
Kay continues to be a chatter box. She talks to just about anything and anyone. Her words are really picking up and she is really starting to understand how to communicate with us. Her favorite is bye bye and hi. Whenever she hears a car start, a door close, or a telephone she starts waving and saying bye bye. We went for a walk on the sidewalk the other day and she waved at every car that drove by.
Balls are some of Kay's favorite toys right now. She loves passing them back and forth with us. Her aim is not great, but she is getting better. She really laughs as the ball goes away from her.
Kay is such a little monkey. She tries to climb everything. She is so funny because she usually grunts while trying to do so. It is as if she thinks the grunting will help give her the strength needed to get up.
She still makes us laugh all the time. This morning out of the blue she started making her lips make noise. Once she starts something she does it over, and over, and over, and over (you get the point...)
Our little vacuum....Kay notices everything. She will stop to pick up the tiniest little spec off the floor and will then stop, turn, and hand it to us. We can't make it far without her having to stop and "pick up". Now, if only I could get her to put her toys away...
Kay is loving her swing on our porch. It took her a little while to warm up to it. Now, she crawls up to it, points, and grunts to get our attention because she wants to get in it so bad.
Kay appears to love music like her dad. She is always going up to the piano and guitar and playing her own tune. She watches in amazement when Craig plays and sings to her. She also likes to "help" him play. It melts my heart!
Wow! I am behind. Our computer decided it was tired after probably over 8 years of constant use. I think we almost have our new one set-up so I can get back to blogging!
Welcome to the world Laurel! Kay's friend Laurel was born a month ago. Kay and I went over to try to take some pictures for her birth announcement. It was so funny to watch Kay. She would pull up to Laurels bed and look inside. She would watch in amazement and would giggle when Laurel made any noises. It is going to be really fun when the girls can play together. It looks like my friend Michelle will have her little girl this week. Kay is going to have so many girls to play with soon!
I realized today it has been a long time since I posted.
We went to the mountains for labor day, but turned around less than 20 hours later to head home because I caught Craig's "food poisoning" that turned out not to be food poisoning at all. He was sick earlier in the week with what we thought was food poisoning. I guess it wasn't! For the short time we were there, Kay had a blast with her cousins and other friends there. Here are some pictures I stole from my brother's blog. I never even unpacked enough to get out the camera!
Mountains take two...we met Nana and Pops in the mountains again a few weeks later. We camped and had a great time together. Kay had a blast playing with Nana in the tent. We went for a short hike and Kay enjoyed smiling at everyone on the trail. Kay woke up at 3 am freezing cold so we had to add another layer of pjs. After that, she went right back to sleep and slept great!
Meatballs! Kay LOVES a meatball. We cut up a few small pieces for her. As Craig and I were talking over dinner we turned around to find Kay had leaned over as far as she could and grabbed an entire meatball of the plate. She was smiling ear to ear and taking a huge bite of it!
15 months! Kay is now 15 months old. I cannot believe it. She is 19 lbs, 6 0z (5%), 31.5 in long (80%), and head circumference of 45.3 cm (25%). She made a huge jump in height since last time. We are now starting to understand more of her words. She says daddy, bye bye, thank you, and a version of mama. She is now blowing kisses which is so sweet to me. She is so curious and has to open everything and figure out how everything works.
Kay is still not walking and is continuing to go to therapy. She is getting very very close! The physical therapist wanted Kay to get a pair of true walking shoes. This was my first purchase of a new clothing item for Kay (I have bought everything used so far). I was SHOCKED at how expensive they were. I spent more on Kay's shoes than I spend on my own. Her feet are so tiny that only one pair of the walking shoes came in her size. So, she is now sporting old school white high top shoes. She is not a fan of them at all, but we are slowing easing her into them.
