17 Months

Kalin has another tooth!! My dad was the one who found it. It wasn't where I was expecting one. It is an upper right molar - maybe. I'm not 100% sure that it's a molar and he doesn't let me get my finger in his mouth very often to explore so I'll have to wait a bit to find out which tooth it is. So that makes tooth #8 and I'm expecting a couple more to show up sometime soon.



Kalin had his 15-18 Month check-up on Thursday. I had originally thought that they called it just a 15-month check-up but apparently it covers 15-18 months so we were still within the range. He is 32 inches (78th percentile) and 25 lbs. ( 63rd percentile). I'm not completely sure how accurate the weight is though. Our doctor's office hasn't gotten their new digital scales yet so they're still using the ones with the slider (I'm sure there's a technical term for them) and Kalin was not happy about being put on it so he was crying and moving and reaching for me so I think the nurse got an estimate and just went with that. It's only a few ounces more than 3 months ago but he has been eating less and they say that this is when the weight gain really slows so who knows, it could be accurate.

Sadly, I think Kalin is starting to recognize the doctor's office. A few seconds after we walked into the examination room he started looking around and getting fussy, like he knew the horrible things that go on in there. He did get 3 shots and handled it just about as well as we had expected. He did keep trying to take the band-aids off afterwards until we put his shorts back on him. The nurse said that it happens alot because the child thinks it's the band-aid that it causing the pain. Thankfully there hasn't been any reactions to the shots. And we were told that we don't have to go in again until after Kalin's second birthday!! Of course then I remembered we'll probably have to go in October to get his flu shot. But still, that's 7 months without a check-up appointment!! I guess I'll have to measure him and weigh him myself now.

Overall he appears to be doing quite well. The doctor once again mentioned that he has a nice, big head and also commented on his strength. Kalin was not happy about the doctor coming close with the stethoscope and kept pushing his hands away. The doctor also called him a brute. Kasey and I had a good laugh over that.

The only question I had at this check-up was to make sure that his verbal skills are where they should be. I wasn't really worried but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Now, I know that you're not supposed compare babies too much and especially between genders. But when my niece, who is a month younger than Kalin already has, like, 20 words in her vocabulary that she pronounces quite clearly and can already say people's names while Kalin still doesn't call us "mama" and "dada" frequently and his 5-10 words aren't understood by anybody other than his parents - it made me wonder if he should be farther along. The doctor was very helpful and reassured us that as long as he's understanding what we're saying and has a few words that he uses for things then he's doing just fine at this age. 5-10 words is normal at this age and boys are usually about 3 months behind girls in verbal expression. He also told us that as far as pronunciation and understandability goes the norm is for 50% of what a 2-year old says should be understood by a stranger, 75% for a 3-year old and by 4 years a stranger should have very little trouble deciphering what is being said. This put my mind at ease. Kalin is slowly but surely figuring out how to say things and he most definitely understands what we say. I still have many days though when I wish he knew how to say more. It would cut down on a lot of frustration. Many times he'll just look at us and start signing "please" and we have no clue what it is that he wants. Then he gets frustrated that we don't know what he wants. Sometimes he'll be able to point in the vicinity of the desired object and we try and figure it out from there. But I would love for him to say, "Excuse me Mama, may I please have some Cheerios?". Ah well, that day shall come. As with all developmental things, this too cannot be rushed. I'll just keep naming and labeling everything for him, talking to him and reading to him. Little by little, object by object, we'll figure out how to communicate better with each other.

Climbing, Praying, and Teething

Kalin has become a little climber over the last couple of weeks. He still needs our help sometimes but has mastered climbing onto the rocking chair and ottoman in his room. It's pretty amazing that he can do that by himself because they both rock as he's climbing up there, but somehow he manages. The couch and recliner in the front room are still difficult for him though. He needs a boost from us to get up there. He loves sitting up there though and playing with his helicopter or reading a book. The downside to this is that when he's sitting on the couch or chair, one of us needs to be right there with him. He hasn't mastered getting down from the chairs by himself. We're working on it though.

He's learned our routine at dinner. I didn't really know we had a routine but apparently we do the same thing often enough that he's caught on. I'm usually the last one to the table as I'm grabbing last minute utensils, beverages, condiments, or napkins; I finally sit down, we hold hands (Kasey grabs Kalin's) and one of us prays. Kalin waits for the moment I put my bottom in that chair then thrusts his hand out towards his dad with a big grin on his face. He knows the routine!! He even caught us off-guard on Saturday morning. We don't usually have breakfast together, even on the weekends. So this Saturday we decided to have french toast and even set our table up so we could all eat together. We decided to just eat the pieces of french toast as they came off the stove instead of keeping them warm until they had all been cooked. Kalin was already set up in his high chair eating, and Kasey had already started in on a piece or two by the time I had one for myself. As soon as I sat down, Kalin grinned and stuck his hand out. Kasey and I just started laughing and thanked Kalin for reminding us that we should also pray for our breakfast - even if some people had a head start on eating. We'll hear him mumbling sometimes during the prayer, or he'll even bow his head and mumble after we've prayed but before he eats his first bite. It's way cute and makes us smile :-)

He's teething again. I think it may be a molar this time. While I know there's some controversy regarding teething causing fevers, I believe that was Kalin issue on Thursday night and Friday. He was not a happy camper and had no desire to be put down. I ended up carrying him most of the day (he's so heavy now!) or even just sitting with him in the chair and rocking. The fever is gone now, no tooth has erupted, but he still isn't very happy and keeps gnawing on his finger. He's also decided not to nap these past two days. He napped so well on Friday when he had the fever (even taking a 3-hour morning nap!!) but these last two days we haven't gotten more than 1 1/2 hours total out of him. It made me a little nervous to drop him off with our friends, the Meyers, on Saturday evening while Kasey and I went on a date. But I also figured that the different faces, different environment, and 8-month old Luke would probably keep him stimulated enough. I was right. It was a positive report when we got back to pick Kalin up. He was a little loopy but hadn't had any meltdowns. By the time we got home and put him to bed, he had been awake for 9 hours!! Thankfully our nights haven't been bad. It's just been the naps during the day.

Kalin has started to say "mama" a lot more often. It makes me so happy :-)

We have a doctor's appointment coming up this week. It's supposed to be his 15-month check-up but since we're running late it's actually a 17-month check-up. I really hope they don't need to do a finger stick again for blood. The shots I can handle...the finger stick I cannot.

Outdoorsy

As a teenager, when I would babysit, I never really enjoyed when the kids would want to play outside. I preferred sitting inside playing a game or watching a movie with them. I've never really enjoyed being outside that much - unless it's raining. The sun is bright and hot. It gives me headaches and burns my extremely white skin. Ick. So wouldn't you know it, I have a kid who loves to go outside. Several times a day he'll take my hand in his and lead me to the front door. He'll look up at me and sign please while trying to open the door. He always wants to follow Kasey out the door to work and runs for the open door any chance he has. It wouldn't really be such a big deal if we had a real yard to play in - but we don't. We have a bunch of weeds on a steep hill. And I have to carry him and walk down 30-something steps to even get to level ground. It always sounds like so much work. Thankfully, since being a stay-at-home mom, my desire to get out of the house has increased and my physical activity has increased giving me more energy for the things my toddler wants to do.

Now that Bethany University has let out for the summer we have a nice, big, empty parking lot downstairs. It has become Kalin's playground. We wander all over the place, chasing birds and the UPS man. He tries to pick up all the trash and always ends up walking straight to the building that Kasey's office is in. He knows where his daddy works and he wants to go visit him!! Even if we've just left daddy at home and the building doors are locked (like on a Saturday). We'll wander around campus a bit until he gets too tired or too hot then we head back home. They're usually brief outings (20 minutes max.) but long enough to wear Kalin (and me!) out.

He loves picking up rocks and pulling up some of the weeds that are outside our house. He loves the birds chirping and always points at them when they fly by us on our walks. I love that he's so active and wants to be outside doing and learning and I hope he continues this lifestyle into adulthood.

I've heard about 2 year olds sitting and watching full movies. Really?!?! I know Kalin is still months away from being 2 but I don't see him sitting to watch anything anytime soon. By no means do I want him to become addicted to TV but it would be nice if he could sit and watch a 20 minute Curious George episode with me. I guess that's just asking too much of his attention span at this age.

In other news, we're having another heat wave up here. Thankfully it's supposed to be a short one but we bought Kalin a little kiddie pool to help cool all of us off during these summer heat waves. I don't think he ever intentionally sat down in it today but he'll get there. The water may not have warmed up enough for it to be comfortable sitting in.

My 3rd Mother's Day - Sort of

MyFirst Mother's Day (May 13, 2007) - Having just found out I was pregnant one week before I was looking foward to my first (sort of) Mother's Day. I had to work - which was unfortunate. What was even more unfortunate though was that it was my very first day of morning sickness. I deemed it quite appropriate that it would start on that particular day.

My Second Mother's Day (May 11, 2008) - Had a great time celebrating with Kasey and Kalin and loved the fact that I actually was a mommy this year and I had the baby in my arms to prove it!! We went to church, ate some Chinese food and hung out at home with our 4-month old. A couple weeks later I got my Mother's Day present. A full 2 HOURS all by myself at home!!! This had not happened since Kalin was born. The only time I had spent away from him at this point was to go grocery shopping or to a doctor's appointment. It was pure luxury! I think I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls while reclining in the chair and then laid in bed and read a book. Kasey and Kalin came home from their 2-hour outing with a card and some candy for me. That card hung on my fridge until today.

My Third Mother's Day (May 10, 2009) - I got one of my presents on Saturday. A beautiful gerbera daisy plant!! Kasey had Kalin hand me my other present this morning. A funny and very appropriate card with a Jamba Juice gift card inside and the promise of more time alone - either in the house or out on the town (the card didn't actually specify that but I'm assuming that I get to pick where I spend my time alone). I'm thinking about a haircut and a trip to Jamba Juice or a coffe shop where I will sit and read. We went out for donuts this morning before Kalin's nap and church. After church we headed to Watsonville to spend time with family where we ate some really good food and Kalin took a fabulous 2-hour nap!! He sure was happy and playful once he woke up and had a good time entertaining the family. They loved all of his babbling and his funny faces. I look forward to the day when Kalin understands Mother's Day and gets to help pick out my present. It'll be interesting to see what I end up with :-)

I actually did get out of the house by myself on Friday and I think seeing how happy and energetic that made me helped remind Kasey how much I need that and also what a great present that time alone would make. Or it's possible that he was already thinking about making that part of my present. I seem to remember talking last year and deciding that we should make my "alone time" a monthly thing....that never happened. Kasey took Friday off so I scheduled a much needed eye appointment then decided to run a few errands. I even bought myself something fun at K-Mart!! I spent a whole 3 hours away from the house by myself.

I hope everybody had a wonderful Mother's Day!!

Squawky Talk

I've got some video of Kalin talking. It might hard for you to really understand what he's saying because he doesn't speak words very clearly (and he tends to leave the last letter off) but trust me, he's saying them. His favorite words are chocolate, hot (he'll even say this when he sees steam coming from food), hat, and sock.

It's tradition that when we get back from our walks I let him play with my water cup. He now feels like he deserves to have water in it so he can drink it like a big boy. I'll put a quarter of an inch of water in it for him and he does fairly well for a 16 month old. He's at least learned that he needs to hold it with both hands and he gets it to his mouth and then tips it - just a tad too far. He ends up soaked and sputtering but always asks me for more by holding the cup up to the sink and signing "please". So the other day he was holding one of my measuring cups and looked at me like he was asking me what it was called. When I told him it was a measuring cup he immediately went to the sink and asked me to fill it with water. I guess he heard the "cup" part and figured it was for drinking. The other day after a water cup incident where there was a nice puddle on the floor he grabbed a kitchen towel and started wiping the floor to clean it up.

The other day, when it was foggy, I mentioned to Kalin that it was foggy outside. He gave me an odd look then walked over to his froggy toy, picked it up, and handed it to me. I was a little confused at first until I realized how much "foggy" and "froggy" sound alike.

Kalin has been having some random meltdowns recently. Sometimes they're brought on by him being told "no" or getting in trouble for something. Even when that happens though he kicks it up a notch to this meltdown - or tantrum I suppose. But sometimes it seems more random and it leaves Kasey and I feeling like we did when he was a newborn and he was crying and we couldn't figure out what was wrong or what he needed. Thankfully, they're over pretty quickly. What makes them sad though is that, most of the time, it's not an angry cry, it's a sad cry.

Kalin and I visited with Sarah and Luke last Tuesday at their place in Santa Cruz. We had a good time and enjoyed playing at the park together!!

Kalin (and Kasey) have both been a little bit sick this past week. Thankfully it's not nearly as bad as the last bug that hit our household.

Kalin loves to see doggies on our walks and gets upset when we can't stop and stare at them for an hour.

He loves it when we sing the ABC's. It can calm him down when he's upset and makes him smile whenever we sing it to him.

I am amazed every day at the things he can understand. I love that he knows what I'm saying when I'm talking to him.

He is still a picky eater sometimes. It's mainly the meat I can't get into him still. Every once in awhile he goes on a green veggie strike - he still loves his carrots though! I was frustrated last week that he wouldn't eat any green beans so I started hiding them in his food. I would make him a little pizza on a piece of wheat bread and I would mash the green beans up and mix them with the sauce. It worked!! He ate a serving of green beans and didn't even know it! I was starting to think I was going to have to revert back to my pureeing days. I got so desperate that I even made him a fruit smoothie yesterday with some green beans and soy beans mixed in. I tried it and you could only taste the berries. A few minutes later he surprised me by eating 2-3 servings of green beans and carrots that I had just cooked. What is up with him?!?! He also did really well today with eating his green beans. I guess he'll just have some off-weeks and some on-weeks.

Kalin really surprised me today with his stacking abilities. Check out how he got the soy sauce to balance on the little top of that vinegar!! I was quite impressed.