Smarty Pants

Kalin is so smart. Here's a few of the fun things that he's been doing. Most of these are new skills that I've noticed just since my last post when I claimed to have nothing to write about.

1. He understands what "outside" means. When we mention going outside or ask him if he wants to go outside he'll go to the front door and try to open it.

2. He tries to repeat me when I say "hot", "off", and "on". It's hard to explain in writing what it sounds like but basically he'll whisper the "ho" from "hot" and the "o" sound from both "off" and "on". He also has developed his own way of saying "tickle" and "chicken". There's really no way of explaining that one in writing and he wouldn't cooperate when I tried to videotape him.

3. He understands when I ask him if he wants to brush his teeth. He'll go into the bathroom and point up at his toothbrush.

4. He's starting to sign "please"!!! This makes me so happy.

5. His "all done" sign is just throwing his arms straight up. I didn't actually intend to teach him that. I think I randomly did that a couple times one day and said "all done!!" and he copied me so now it's habit.

6. During the week, Kalin gets up while Kasey is getting ready for work and they hang out while I lounge in bed for a few extra minutes. Yesterday, as I opened the bedroom door, I was greeted by Kalin holding the nursing pillow. It was so funny. He knew I was in the bedroom so he was standing there with the pillow waiting for me to come out. It made me laugh and made my day!!

7. Kalin has a new tooth!! So this has nothing to do with him learning anything but it's exciting too!! This makes tooth #5. I'm hoping it's matching pair is also on it's way. His teeth come in pairs, usually within a week of each other. I think this is the first tooth since October.

8. I feel like we're getting close to hearing Kalin call Kasey "dad". He's been using the "da" and "dadadada" babblings more frequently and more often when Kasey's around and even once when he saw Kasey walk in the front door after work.

I just realized tonight that I haven't taken one picture of Kalin this week. How sad is that?!?! So here are some random, funny pictures from this month.

Lull

I would love to tell you how my lack of posting is due to the fact that we've been extremely busy doing all sorts of exciting things and that I just couldn't find the time to sit down and type. In reality, it's just been kind of boring around here. There really haven't been any new skills or major developmental milestones reached in the last week. Things definitely have slowed down in that department since Kalin turned one. He changed and developed so fast in that first year. In Kalin's first couple months there were all sorts of milestones reached - smiling, holding his head up during tummy-time, tracking objects with his eyes. Not to mention that his little face and body were changing every day. Here we are, 6 weeks after his first birthday, and he's basically the same as he was on December 31st, 2008. I know that there are still some really exciting things to look forward to in the next few months but there's really no telling when he'll hit those milestones. He's been drooling up a storm for months so I'm hoping one of these days 5 teeth will pop out (it'll make all the drooling and crankiness worth it if more than one tooth comes out). I've been labeling every item he comes into contact with hoping one day he'll say the name of the item back to me. I know his little brain is absorbing all this information and that it might still be awhile until it gets translated into words coming out of his mouth. But for now, our days are very predictable (which is nice) and kind of boring. We play alot. We walk when the weather is nice. We read lots of books. We laugh. We say "no" a million times a day. Here's a little look back on our last week or so:

1. We watched Luke on Wednesday while his mom met with students on campus. We had a wonderful time! Kalin and I were looking at pictures of Luke on his mom's blog today and I kept pointing at Luke and saying his name. I think it would be fun if Kalin can learn to say Luke's name. It will probably sound something like "uke" or "yuke" but I'm excited for when that day comes.

2. Kasey and I had our Valentine's Day date on Friday. We took Kalin to my parent's house and headed to Gilroy. We had discussed doing a dinner and movie (typical) and then running some random errands which are just easier to do without a baby. We decided, as much as we love movies, that we wanted to do something a little different (and cheaper!). So instead, we went to Barnes & Noble. We used to do this when we were dating and had nowhere else to go. We would find a bunch of books or magazines and then sit for hours reading. It was so much fun and such a flashback to our pre-Kalin days. I don't even remember what we did last year. Considering Kalin was only 6 weeks old I doubt we even thought about doing anything. Our lives were pretty much consumed with Kalin and squeezing sleep in wherever we could. Anyway, so my mom watched Kalin for about 6 hours while we were out and about enjoying our baby-free selves. We spent the night at my parents and spent all day Saturday there visiting. Kalin did very well with my mom and apparently learned how to drink from his sippy-cup and like it. He also was much more obedient for her than he is for us. How does that happen?!?! We say "no" he smiles at us and continues what he's doing. Or he just keeps going back to whatever the forbidden activity is even though we've said "no" and pulled him away. My mom says "no" and he stops what he's doing. I'm so happy that he wasn't a big pill for my mom but where's the respect for your parents, kiddo?

3. I finally scheduled his 12-month appt. with the doctor. I had been waiting for an insurance situation to get resolved and it finally did on Thursday. I immediately called the office and scheduled his appointment. Unfortunately, they can't get us in until the 26th. So his 12-month has become a 14-month appointment. Oh well. At least we're finally getting that done.

4. We had some fun weather on our drive to my parents. We were driving along the 1 in Aptos and it started hailing!! It was so crazy and fun.

5. Kalin's getting cagey. It's been raining off and on all week so our walks have been a little sporadic. Today it hasn't stopped raining which we love but I think that it may have contributed to Kalin's grumpiness.

6. We cut Kalin's hair. I did the front on my own but was too nervous about doing the rest without help. A couple days later Kasey and I did the back. It...umm...turned out alright :-) It really isn't that bad...if you don't look too closely.

7. Kalin likes to stand on things. His bike, his pony, and the little rocking chair at my parent's house.

8. He had his first taste of a smoothie from Jamba Juice. He enjoyed it.

9. He ate cereal. Not baby cereal, but Cheerios in a bowl with milk.

10. He got into my flour canister.

11. I got him a silly songs Sesame Street DVD from Netflix. He actually sat on my lap for 10 minutes and watched part of it. I figured since he likes to dance maybe he would enjoy the songs.

I know little by little he's growing and learning and that someday soon I'll be writing about how he looked at me and said "Mama" or pointed at a book and said "book" or that he has 5 new teeth!! There were these lulls in developmental milestones in the first year and then all of a sudden 5 amazing things would happen in a short period of time. I guess we're just in one of those lulls. I need to sit back and enjoy where we're at...even if doesn't make for good writing material.

The Quicker Picker-Upper

I could have used some Bounty today. Unfortunately, I'm too cheap and buy the 89 cent rolls of "Basic Red" from Safeway. Let me back up...

I've been thinking recently about weaning Kalin. Maybe not completely but about half-way. He just doesn't seem that into it anymore...and I'm starting to feel that I may be losing my love for it as well. I guess it's a good sign though if we start to lose interest at the same time. It will probably make it less painful for both of us. He still asks me for milk but more than half the time he'll take a sip then get distracted by looking around or talking to me. It's sweet until it gets annoying. He ends up twisting all around like he's a contortionist while still trying to take a sip here and there. It's rare that nursing Kalin is relaxing or fun anymore. It turns into a wrestling match. He typically nurses 4 times a day - in the morning, around 11 am before our walk, around 3:30-4 after his afternoon nap, and then 30 min. before his bedtime. I'm thinking about cutting out the middle sessions.

So to prepare him for this change, we've been trying him out with some good 'ol cow's milk. His little body has been handling it just fine (for which I'm thankful). It took a few days for him to get used to the taste and not just let it dribble out but he seems to have warmed up to it alright. He usually gets his liquids by cup - not bottle and not sippy cup - just a plain old cup. However, he's not coordinated enough to hold it himself without spilling it so we end up holding it for him. But if I'm going to be giving him several cups of milk a day I don't want to have to hold the cup for him all the time. We tried the sippy cup back when he was 6 or 7 months old and he used it for about a week. He just didn't like it so he has actually gotten really good at drinking from a regular cup. I don't really want to go backwards though and teach him how to use the sippy cup when he's almost mastered drinking from a cup. I thought I'd give him another go at it and see what happened. I put the sippy part in his mouth and he just looked at me like he was saying, "And what would you like me to do now, mom?". So that wasn't going to work (I was secretly thankful for that). There is a removable valve in the lid of the cup that is used to control the flow of liquid. I took that out, knowing that I could still end up with a mess if it got tipped over, but also realizing that it would be a much smaller mess than if there wasn't a lid at all. This seemed to work alright and I finally got him to hold onto the handles of the cup and do it himself. Of course, then the inevitable shaking of the cup occurred along with tipping it upside down. He created a nice mess on his tray, the floor and on his head. I also found out that he preferred the milk warmed rather than straight from the fridge. So, tomorrow, we'll try cutting one or two nursing sessions out and practice some more with our cow's milk and cups.

It makes me feel good knowing that I'm not forcing my kid into things he's not ready for. When we taught him to fall asleep on his own at night it wasn't traumatic and he took to it really well and quickly. That showed me that he was physically and emotionally ready for that step. And now that we're taking "baby steps" in the direction of weaning, it's comforting to recognize the signs of nursing-disinterest on both of our sides. Most of you know that even a month ago, I was dead-set against weaning him just yet. I wasn't emotionally ready and I wasn't catching any signals from him that he was ready either. I think the process that has led us both to this point was teaching him to fall asleep without nursing. He realized that there are other ways to find comfort and rest that didn't require nursing.

I might still be sad when he's completely weaned but I know that it will also be freeing. With every step and process we've taken and gone through I've had to let go of a lot but I've also gained a lot. I've gained more time to myself, more time for Kasey and I as a couple, more time to catch up with friends, and more time to rediscover my passions. We'll see what this next phase may bring.

Long Time No See...or Write

There just hasn't been much to write about recently. Plus, I had posted, like, 3 videos in a row the week before and it wore me out. But I'm back to give a little update on what's been going on in our lives.

1. The other day I heard Kalin wake up from his nap and thought that I would go in and rescue him from his crib. He wasn't crying yet and I wanted to catch him before he got upset. I walked in and found him sitting in his crib holding his stuffed sheep by one leg. He turned and gave me a look that I interpreted as him saying, "Excuse me, I was having a private conversation with my sheep. Who invited you?". Apparently I had interrupted something.


2. We had fun stacking cans the other day. Kalin had fun unstacking them.

3. He likes to turn our stool upside down and stand it.

4. He can get on his pony all by himself.

5. We had spaghetti tonight. Kalin liked it.

See, there just isn't anything exciting going on. We are excited though that it's supposed to rain at the end of this week and we're looking forward to spending time with baby Luke tomorrow.