Reminiscence - Month 2

Such a goofy little face.

His first really good tummy-time.

Kalin meets his cousin Hailee for the first time. He wasn't yet 7 weeks old when we took our first road trip down to Hemet. Even now I wonder how we managed that without vowing to never take another roadtrip again. We had been so careful not to take Kalin out into public for those first 6 weeks (per hospital and doctor's orders - to help him avoid catching a cold or the flu) and then we decide to take a 7 1/2 (which I believe ended up being 9) hour trip. All went well of course but it's still crazy to think that we did that.

The best way to get him to smile was to tickle his upper lip with his burp rag. I believe that's how this smile was captured.

He loved to play and talk with this monkey from Cedarville. I loved to pose the monkey with Kalin for pictures.

I was bored so I propped him up and had a photo shoot.

There's that darn monkey again :-)


He's propped up on the couch this time because my bum was getting sore sitting on the floor with him. This is when he really started learning to ham it up for the camera.

He was a happy and smiley little boy...most of the time.

We used to stare at each other and mimic what the other person was doing. I would smile...he would smile. He would coo... and I would coo right back. I would open my mouth into an "O" shape...and he would copy me!! I had actually forgotten about this until I started looking at these pictures. It's so much fun when they start to interact with you.

Getting stronger every day!!

I think the stuffed animals are attacking him.

So he decided to punch Eeyore.

So that covers Kalin's 2nd month (aka February). Hopefully I'll be able to post his 3rd month tomorrow. It's so much fun to look back at these pictures and remember. Remember what Kalin was like and what we were like. We've learned and grown right along with Kalin this year.

Recent Activities and Reminiscence

Laundry - Kalin likes to help me with the laundry. He's a big help in the sense that he lets me get it done. Well, he lets me get the folding of laundry done. Getting it washed and dried is a bit harder when he won't go down for a nap because it involves me going outside and down to our storage/laundry room below our house. It's possible to do it while he's awake but I have to take him with me, carrying both him and the laundry basket - not easy. He likes it when I fold though because he gets to play with all of the clothes in the basket and dump the basket over (and chew on his socks).

Puppy Chow (aka Muddy Buddies) - Kalin liked it when I started to shake the Chex mixture with the powered sugar so I let him help.

Kalin's Door - We finally decorated Kalin's door. Thanks for the poster Grandpa Ken and Grandma Jody!!

Christmas Shopping - We braved a trip to the Capitola Mall this past Saturday. It wasn't as crowded as I had expected. I guess we wore Kalin out though. Overall it was a VERY successful trip and I am quite pleased with our purchases.

Date Night - Well, it was kind of a date night. If you consider hanging out with fellow Bethany employees a date. At least we were without Kalin for a couple hours. It was the annual Christmas party for Faculty and Staff of Bethany University. This year it was held in the cafeteria so we didn't have far to go!! My parents came up to babysit, bathe Kalin, and put him to bed. We had a delightful time and the only time I thought about Kalin was when people said "Where's the baby tonight?" And I would reply, "At home with the grandparents. He was screaming as I walked out the door but I'm sure he's fine now!!" Once he no longer senses my presence in the room or house he tends to calm down and be just fine. I guess I actually thought of him twice. The second time was when we were singing Christmas carols. The interim president (who was leading the singing) said "And now for every child's favorite." Of course, nobody knew what that was supposed to be until he started singing "Away in a Manger". I started thinking about Kalin. Depending on his language development, next Christmas (or maybe the Christmas after) he could be singing these songs and doing some motions. And I stopped to think about how sweet it will be to hear his little voice singing Christmas carols. It almost made me cry!!

Sweet Tooth - Kalin is getting ready for his birthday parties that are coming up in just a couple weeks. Last week he was found eating chocolate. This morning, I found him eating brown sugar. He had grabbed the canister while my back was turned and when I noticed he was being quiet (usually a sign that something isn't right) I turned around to find him licking sugar off his fingers and clumps of brown sugar on the floor. I decided to get a picture of this since I missed out with both the chocolate and the Chex from last week.

Speaking of Kalin's birthday. I've been getting a bit nostalgic recently as I'm sure many parents do as their children reach another birthday. I got to thinking...it's really not fair how fast time goes. I mean, I waited for 9 months for the opportunity to hold my 7lb. baby and then all of a sudden he's 10lbs., then 15, and now he's over 20lbs. and his first birthday is only weeks away. It went too fast. So, in these next couple weeks, I'll take a look back at some of my favorite moments of Kalin's first year. This set of pictures are from Kalin's first month.

Fresh from the oven!!

Ready to go home.

Practicing his new trick.

Cute new outfit from Aunt Nise.

Hanging out in his new bouncer.

Gotta get those gas bubbles out!

The happiest baby on the block? Well, we tried!!

Sweet little sleeper.

He wasn't really a fan of his first bath. And he really wasn't a fan of getting out of the bath!!

I love that little face and those big blue eyes.

Four generations

His little acne covered face.

There's that sweet little face again.

Challenging

Yesterday and today have been challenging days for both Kalin and I. I don't know what brought it on but yesterday morning I woke up, not feeling like being the mommy I know Kalin needed and wanted. I wished I could give him to somebody for 8 hours so I could have a chance to do whatever I wanted to do for a WHOLE day. I wanted it to be like when I had a job, and got a day off. A day to lazily surf around on the internet, read books, have uninterrupted thoughts. Basically, a day to care for and focus on myself...on only myself. I've only truly had a few of these days since Kalin was born, but when they hit, they hit hard. There were things on my to-do list (bills to pay, Quicken to update, things to research, laundry) that were not getting done and it was frustrating me. Several times I asked Kalin why I couldn't have a single moment to accomplish a task without him hanging all over me and whining. He, in return, let me know loud and clear (in his 11-month old way) that this was his time to play and he needed me to pay attention to him and play with him. Well, I wasn't happy with that. I told him that if he would go down for a decent nap, then maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation. So after a frustrating morning (where he finally went down for a nap around 11:30) we (meaning, I) eagerly anticipated an afternoon walk. Walks are a glorious way, not only to get exercise, but to clear my head, breathe in the crisp autumn air, and not have to really deal with Kalin. We usually start our walks off with a song and discussions about the weather and the trees and plants we see (and how fast cars speed by us on Bethany Drive). But yesterday, I was in the mood for silence, and later on some adult conversation (not adult as in dirty, but adult as in intelligible...just thought I'd clarify). I ended up talking to my friend, Kristen, from Cedarville. She is 12 weeks pregnant and spends most of her evenings laying on the couch feeling sick. We talked for 4o minutes of my 70 minute walk. It was so refreshing.

But last night I started to feel guilty. Like I had wasted a whole precious day with my little boy being annoyed and frustrated. So I purposed in my mind and heart, that today would be different. I would play with him until he was exhausted, I would hold him for his nap if that's what he needed, we would do everything the way he needed it done. That mindset resulted in me not having showered by the time Kasey came home for lunch at 1:00 and Kalin finally taking a nap (in my arms) from 12:30-1:30. He had a weird meltdown (the likes of which I have not seen for many months) around 11:30. I think he was overtired and sick. He's had a stuffy/runny nose since this morning. He has also had really weird eating patterns. It started last night. He just kept asking for more milk (by using his sign language). Then this morning he asked for it 3 times within an hour and a half. I obliged until he started spitting up. I decided he just wanted the comfort of nursing (which could be because he wasn't feeling well) or because he wanted to sleep. If I try to distract him from wanting to nurse, he'll grab the pillow I use when nursing and bring it to me. He's so smart to connect those two things!! We had a better afternoon. We took a walk (later than usual), stopped by to visit Kasey and his co-workers, and had a good evening together after Kasey headed off to youth group. I had the pleasure of giving him a bath, rubbing him down with lotion, and then putting him to bed by myself. He went down earlier than usual because he was starting to act really cranky and tried to fall asleep while I was nursing him at 6:45 (his normal bedtime is 8). Today was much better. I went into it with a better attitude which resulted in a more willing heart to give my boy whatever he needed to make his day fabulous.

A few thoughts:

It's amazing how my drive and desire to take a million pictures of Kalin everyday has drastically decreased over the months. I have no new pictures for tonight, so I'll just post some more from our fabulous excursion to Crest Ranch for our tree.

Kalin got into the Chex tonight while I was doing dishes. I saw him playing with the box but was keeping my eye on him to make sure he didn't get it open. Well, he did, and I didn't realize it until I heard him crunching on something. I guess he needed a snack. He had dumped probably 2 cups of the cereal on his lap before I got to him. It would have made for a good picture, but I was focused on making sure he didn't cram so many in his mouth that he choked.

No Title Today

Saturday I got in the holiday spirit by making chex mix and peppermint bark!! Yummy!!! I still need to make some spiced cider and of course, fudge. Kasey and I like to make fudge and apparently we're really good at it. It always turns out so smooth and delicious. I love the holidays.

I always assumed that Kalin's first taste of chocolate would be at one of his birthday parties this year...I was wrong. He had his first taste on Saturday, completely by accident. I guess I had dropped some chocolate on the floor when I was breaking up the baking chocolate for the peppermint bark and Kalin found it. The only way we knew what he had done was by the chocolate around his mouth and on his hand. It's too bad we didn't get a picture of it. I guess he enjoyed it though.

We got our Christmas tree decorated on Sunday while Kalin was napping. When he woke up we turned off the lights in the house except for the Christmas tree lights so Kalin could get the full effect. He stared at all of the pretty lights for awhile before exploring. I've been re-organizing the tree today based on how high he can reach and where he tends to focus his attention. Breakables go up high and all the soft ornaments that I don't mind him playing with are on the bottom half of the tree. I love our tree. It's the perfect size for our little house. A cute little 5 footer. I figure I'll be re-decorating the tree a couple times every day as Kalin takes ornaments off to play with and I'll have to keep reminding him not to play with the lights but I'm ok with that. I can handle a little extra work for these next few weeks.

I actually got a few presents wrapped today too!! I'm so on top of things this year. Of course, I've only done about 10% of my holiday shopping but at least those gifts are wrapped and under the tree!!

As has become habit, I will leave you with a few observations:

When we were down in Hemet for Thanksgiving I got see my niece, Hailee, wave. She has the cutest little princess/Miss America wave. It's so sweet and dainty and she loves to display that skill!! Then we have Kalin. Kalin has a big, manly wave. He doesn't wave often but when he does, it involves his entire arm moving up and down.

Kalin's babbling and "talking" has definitely increased this past week. So I have been naming items more frequently and listening very closely to what he's "saying" to see if I can pick out any language patterns. I think he sometimes does say "Hi" and means it. We went to visit Kasey at work after our walk but Kasey was on the phone so we waited outside his office. Kalin got antsy in the stroller so I took him out to let him walk a little bit. He walked right into Kasey's office and said "Hi" (or what sounded very much like it). I'm getting very excited to hear his first words and to have him communicate with us in this way. Of course, as with all things in a baby's development, we could still be months away from this milestone.

I've only seen Kalin bleed a few times in his short life and it's always so sad. The first were the heel sticks in the hospital when he was only a couple days old. That was really sad because they had to stick him 3 or 4 times to get enough blood for the tests. Then there was the blood from the very first time I clipped his nails and accidently cut his little finger (oops!!). There's been a little blood from his shots but that's not too bad. A couple months ago though he had a bloody nose. I didn't see him fall and hit his face but that must have been what happened because he started crying so I picked him up to console him then noticed blood dripping out of his nose. That scared me for a second because I've never seen that much blood come out of him before. Thankfully, it stopped really fast. But today we had another incident with blood. He was leaning on his toy helicopter when it slipped out from under him causing his face to hit it and causing him to scream. At first I thought he just bumped his forehead but then he pulled his hand out of his mouth and there was blood on it. While he was screaming, Kasey and I were trying to console him, wipe the blood off him, and figure out what was bleeding. We were afraid he had knocked a tooth out because the blood seemed to be pooling up around his gums but we were glad to see that all 4 teeth were accounted for. Once we got him calmed down (using a teething ring, I don't know why that works but it works when he's just plain ol' cranky too) and cleaned up we noticed that he had bit his top lip. Poor little boy. I've done that many times and it is NOT fun!! I don't like to see him hurt but I guess it might be something I'll have to get used to. Given his genes and adventurous spirit, we might end up with a few broken bones before he's all grown up.

One of his favorite things to do today was to look at the world upside down. He would stand up and bend at the waist, putting his head on the ground, and stay like that for a few seconds. I guess he just thought things looked funny that way. Kasey asked him if he was going to be a center in football. He kept doing it though so I started to do it back to him and he got a big kick out of that. Then he started reaching back for thing between his legs which would throw him off-balance.

Babies, Blocks, and Trees

What a fun-filled day we had!! Sarah and Luke came for a visit this morning. Luke had a few fussy minutes at the beginning of the visit but after having a good meal was a happy little baby boy. It's interesting to watch Kalin interact with other babies. Kalin was really interested in Luke while he was crying. He would just stare at him and I could see his little mind working, trying to figure out who this little person was and why they were crying. I've been told that in the nursery at church, while most of the other babies are crying, he'll just be sitting on the floor, content as can be to play with blocks. I'm glad that so far, crying doesn't stimulate the same response in him. Although, I'm also hoping that it doesn't signal a lack of empathy on his part. I guess it's too early to tell.

I did find it funny and amusing that while Sarah was sitting in the rocker feeding Luke, Kalin walked over and tried to hand her a blanket that was sitting next to the chair. I didn't think much of it until after Sarah was gone but then I remembered earlier this week Kalin had been a little fussy and he walked over to the chair and grabbed the pillow I always use when I nurse him (which sits with the blanket) and tried to hand it to me. It was like he was telling me he was ready to nurse and he connected that pillow with nursing. So when Sarah was feeding Luke and Kalin handed her the blanket I imagined him saying, "Here, I use the pillow, but you can use this blanket." Of course, I really have no idea what he was thinking, but this scenario makes him sound like such a sweet and smart little boy!!

Later in the afternoon my parents came up and Kasey got off early so we could get our Christmas tree!! My aunt also joined us up at Crest Ranch so she could get in on Kalin's first Christmas tree experience. He seemed to have fun walking around, sitting in the dirt and playing with the sticks. I was glad to see that he finally warmed up to the trees too. We've noticed in the past that when he's near plants, bushes or trees that he gets scared of them if they touch him. He would reach his hand out, feel them, then whine and hide his head in Kasey's chest. I guess because they're prickly. Kind of a funny thing to be scared of though. He wasn't a fan of the first few trees but after awhile he got used to them and would walk up and play with the branches. Of course, it would have made life easier on me if he didn't want to get near our tree, but I don't really want to raise a wimpy boy who's scared of a Christmas tree :-) It thrilled me beyond even my imagination to share this day and experience with my little boy. The trip was everything I hoped it would be, and more!!

A few observations about Kalin from the last week (with Christmas tree pictures mixed in):

He loves it when I stack blocks for him and then knock them down. Of course, I don't just knock them down, I make them go flying through the air. He'll squeal and giggle with delight. He doesn't try knocking them down yet but he likes to try and take the top block off the stack, and right when he puts his hand on it, is when I'll knock them all down. So he started playing a game with me. He'll reach out and let his hand hover over the top block and then pull it back really quick, waiting to see if I'll knock them down. But of course I'll always wait until his hand touches the blocks to knock them over. I'm always rewarded with smiles and laughs. I love that he plays and initiates games with me.

He can almost roll a ball back to me now. He used to just pick it up and let it fall out of his hand but now he'll put his hand on the ball and make it roll (kind of) towards me.

He shakes his head "no". I'm not sure he knows exactly what it means yet. I'll ask him if he wants more of something: he'll sign "more", get all excited, then shake his head "no". I do a double-take every time before I realize that he's not sure what he's doing. The contradictory actions tend to confuse me for a few seconds. So we're trying to teach him how to nod his head for "yes" and shake it for "no".

I can almost hear him say "thank-you" when I give him things. I guess he's heard me say it enough to him that he's picked up on the inflection and the basic sounds. It's weird but thrilling to give him something then hear him "say" something that sounds very much like English!! Every once in awhile it sounds like he's saying "Hi" as well. I'm hoping our first words are just around the corner. Of course, he's been saying (or babbling) "mama" and "dada" for awhile, but never actually saying them, and meaning Kasey or I. I'm not sure I'll call it a true "first word" until he looks at one of us and says it. But I doubt there will be anything quite as thrilling as having him look at me and say "Mama". I'm looking forward to it.

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat.

A few thoughts for tonight:

I love that bathtime with Kalin has become Kasey's special job. I don't really feel like I'm missing out. I love the fact that it's something that they do together. For several months, bathtime was done in the middle day which meant Kasey missed out on it altogether. Now that we do it at night, Kasey is able to be present and it gives me a much needed break from Kalin in the evening. Plus, I can still hear the laughs and giggles and splashes, no matter where I am in the house.

It struck me last night how nice it is that Kalin sleeps so well now. Mainly because I'm not rushing to get into bed myself as soon as he's been put in his. Up until a couple months ago I would be filled with dread everytime I got back into bed because I never knew how long I would be in there...5 minutes? 1 hour? 3 hours? There was so much uncertainty. Now, I can put him down, get myself a bowl of cereal and surf the net, catch up on e-mails, or blog for a couple hours, knowing that I won't hear from Kalin until somewhere around 7. It's wonderful. It has also finally given me the opportunity to read again.

We're introducing Kalin to the world of big boy utensils. We bought him a set of toddler utensils at the store yesterday. It was fun watching him inspect them and play with them. He never did get food onto them by himself but he tried. I also bought some bowls, thinking that it might be easier to chase food around a small bowl, rather than around his tray. An odd thing happened tonight when I brought a bowl out for him. He had been refusing to eat much of anything besides cheerios and cheese tonight, ignoring the yummy turkey burger I had made for him, until I brought out the bowl. I put the pieces of meat in the bowl and he started scarfing them down. Did they look more appetizing in the bowl? Did they taste better? Was it the thrill of a challenge in getting them out of the bowl? Or was it just plain fun? I'm guess it was just more fun. He ended up eating his entire burger and most of a banana that way.

I'm looking forward to this Friday. Why? Because that's the day we're going to get our Christmas tree!!! It's going to be so much fun!! Leading up to this holiday season, I was a little bit jealous of several couples I know who have just had their babies in the last few months. They were all looking forward to celebrating their baby's first Thanksgiving and first Christmas just like me...but they had only had to wait a few months. I've had to wait almost an entire YEAR!!! Silly thing to be jealous about, I know, but I was. But I got to thinking tonight...Kalin is going to have so much more fun than the other babies. I'm going to get to watch him walk/run/fall among the trees at the Christmas tree farm, tear open his presents, and enjoy some of the holiday food. The other parents have to wait a whole other year to have these experiences. I can't wait until Friday!!! I love Christmas.

Road Trip!!

It was a dark and stormy night...that's funny, this is how Kalin's birth story started out. Except this time it's true. Our trip to Hemet started out dark and stormy. The forecast called for rain for pretty much the entire state which meant we would be traveling in it our whole trip. I love the rain, but not when I'm traveling. We made it out of the house at 6 (which was my goal!!) and had an uneventful trip (except for the rain which started as soon as we got on the 5 to head south). The heaviest part of the storm was in the LA and Pasadena area which we drove right through and wasn't much fun at 12 o'clock at night. We saw numerous accidents which made me even more nervous but we rolled into town at 2:30, ready for a nice warm bed and some sleep. Well, that's what Kasey and I were ready for. Kalin was ready to play. I had the trip all planned. I would sit in the backseat with Kalin for the first couple hours to keep him awake. We would play, sing, and read books. We would then stop where I would feed him for the last time that night and then he would sleep the rest of the trip and we would walk into the house and put him to bed where he would stay for at least 5 more hours. Why I thought it would work this way, I don't know. You'd think after having a baby for 11 months I would be smarter than that. It all worked great until it was time for Kasey and I to go bed. Kalin would NOT go back to sleep!! To make an already long story short, Kasey and I got less than 3 hours of sleep that night. Not the best way to start off our vacation. But we recovered and were able to have a WONDERFUL time with family. Sadly, we didn't get to see many friends but we will be back down in a month so we'll plan on seeing people then.

I had thought with Kalin being almost 11 months (and not needing to nurse every two hours), driving at night (again, and not needing to nurse every two hours), and this being our 4th "vacation" with him, things might go smoothly from start to finish. The trip itself was great, it was the after effects of 8 hours in the car that caused us problems. He was crankier than usual and more "mommy-obsessed" than here at home. It seemed like if he could hear me, see me, or even smell me, he had to be with me. He gets like that a little bit here at home but it seemed so much worse. It's not that I mind holding him and carrying him around with me (although it would be nice to go to the bathroom or eat a meal without him whining for me) but I felt bad for everybody else that was there. Our families hadn't seen him since July and they wanted to hold him and play with him and take care of him but he kept crying for me. It seems silly to complain about this since I'm sure the days of his attachment to me will come to an end all too soon and I'll be looking back with fondness saying, "Remember when I was the only person he wanted to be with?" His crankiness was probably more evident to Kasey and I than to anybody else. I know that they all still enjoyed him immensely and loved seeing his new "tricks" and skills. And, of course, nobody ever got tired of his "cartoon" smile.


It was Kalin's first Thanksgiving and I was so glad that he was old enough to try alot of the different dishes available. It made it so exciting that he could share the meal with us. He and his cousin Hailee sat next to each other in their high chairs while my sister, Bekah, and I fed them bits of meat and other delicious food items. Good times.


Kalin also got his first haircut!! It was really just a little trim. Grandma Jody trimmed his long bangs and the hair over his ears along with the hair on his neck. And, of course, I have a little baggy of his hair for his baby book.

The trip back home seemed long but was uneventful (just the way a road trip should be). We got home at 11:40 Saturday night and Kalin went right back to bed (thank goodness!!). We all slept in Sunday morning (even Kalin) and took it easy the rest of the day. It was a good vacation and we look forward to seeing everybody again in a month for Christmas "South" and Kalin's FIRST birthday.