Photo Friday 2/29

Busted lips, saying no and surprising gifts

It's been a hell of a day.

The cool thing that happened today was that Karen got to see Kylie standing up in her crib. This is the first time that she's done this. My dad has been saying for weeks now that this was going to happen very soon. Well Daddy, it finally did!

But the little stinker was so full of herself that she decided to push some boundaries. She decided she wanted to throw some of her food. At me.

Not cool.

I had to tell her "We don't throw food" and give her my best serious, stern look. She threw some more food. I repeated, "Do not throw food" while holding her hand. She looked at me (you can see where this is going can't you) got a handful and threw some more. In a louder voice, I said, "Kylie! Do not throw food" and held her hand again.

She burst into tears.

Yep, good times.

This was the first time I had to reprimand her. And a had a glimpse of the years ahead of me, full of reprimands and discipline and I had to take a deep sigh. I repeated a little mantra, "Boundaries are good for children", under my breath around 20 times and sighed some more. Millions of women do this everyday for their children. I get that. But it didn't make this first time any easier.

Then later, the ever-more-adventurous Kylie took a tumble and cut the inside of her lip with her teeth. And as I tried to comfort her, she pushed at me and reached out for Momma Karen.

And then another meal went by with more food throwing and more discipline. And all day long I was darting in with Kleenex to wipe her nose (she still has her cold).

Needless to say when Karen offered to spell me this afternoon, I gratefully accepted and collapsed into the bed and went sound asleep within seconds. Later we got Starbucks coffee which always helps. God Bless Good Coffee.

And then something else amazing happened. I received, out of the blue, two books from my Amazon wish list from Kristin C. who lives here in Oregon. I was surprised and delighted. Kristin, please remind me if we have met. And if we haven't met, I sure would like to meet you! That's an incredible way to start a friendship. Your generosity was the highlight of my day.

Colds and cruising

Dearest Kylie woke up with a head cold this morning. It makes my heart ache when her nose and eyes run and she looks at me and whimpers. Let's hope she feels better soon.

She did something new today. She stood up to play at her kitchen toy and I was sitting about a foot away. She reached toward me and I held out my hand to her. Normally, she rejects my hand and reaches for my shoulder so that she can lean into me. But today, she firmly grabbed my hand and took two steps towards me before falling into my arms. She did the same thing with Karen later in the day. Very cool!

She's also been attached to holding two things while she plays. She's been doing this for a few days. For example, if she's playing with blocks, she'll hold one block in the left hand and one in the right. Same thing with balls. Same thing with her other toys. But it's always two of the same thing (not a block and a ball for instance). Just makes me wonder what she gets into her head sometimes.

I was going to take a picture of her crawling around holding on to her two things, but she looked so pitiful with her cold, I decided not to.

But here are two scrapbook pages from Karen's parents recent visit. For a closer look or details, click here.

Purple girls

When I noticed that both Karen and Kylie were wearing purple, I just had to take some pictures. They were both good sports about it. Aren't they lovely? Look at those blue eyes!




I read about Buddy TV on Cool Mom Picks. Has anyone seen this? If so, what did you think of it?

And, has anyone added Web Call with Grand Central to their blog?

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Little things

I had fun trying a few new things with Kylie this weekend. I realized that I had gotten into a "play rut" with her which means I would pull out the same toys at around the same time of day and interact with just those. Or we would be upstairs for so long and then downstairs...you know, just a normal routine but it had gotten too automatic and not as engaging. So I put on my creative hat, consulted a few play books and created some new activities.

When she crawled into the bathroom and stood up at the tub, I filled a cup with water and poured it out so that she could reach out her hand and feel the water fall.

I created a pillow obstacle course. I should have video recorded that one. I love to hear her quick breaths when she's exerting herself and is excited. Those baby breaths are just darling.

We had a ball drop activity where I encouraged her to pick up balls from a tupperware bowl and then drop them back in.

And lastly, we incorporated books more into our play time. I always read Kylie 1-3 stories before each nap. She snuggles into my arms, sucks her fingers and touches the pages as I read to her. But I realized that I don't want her to associate books with just naps. So I've started pulling some down onto the floor and reading her a page or two during her playtime.

Each activity only last a few minutes--15 at most-- but it felt really good to break out of my rut. And I think she'll benefit from me mixing it up.

However, I didn't take any new pictures of her this weekend. Sorry.

But here are two scrapbook pages I just finished. Oh, and speaking of scrapbooking---
Jessica Sprauge's beginner digital scrapbooking course enrollment begins today, Monday the 25th at 9pm Eastern. Several of you have let me know that you are interested in digital scrapbooking and I honestly believe that this class is the best start you could ask for. I think you've read enough raves about her classes from me. But if you have any questions, send me an email and I'll be happy to answer them. And let me know if you sign up!
For more info on this class, click here.

Have a good Monday everyone!





For a closer look or to see the specs, click here for wood floors or here for family.

Photo Friday 2/21

This second picture is without a flash and what a big difference it makes! I MUST learn more about my camera so that I get this better quality without tons of sunlight.


I used the recent park pictures to document Kylie's 10 month milestones.

You can see the specs here. And a close-up of the left page and the right page.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Grabbing the spoon and other things

Tonight, after feeding Kylie some yummy spinach & cheese ravioli, peas and diced pears, I thought I would give her a few spoonfuls of prunes. Now, Kylie has reached for the spoon before. And I've let her play with it.

But she has never grabbed like she did tonight. Totally insistent with a shout to let me know that she was not to be denied. Did I mention the spoon was full of prunes????

Well, you know me....she grabs the spoon and I grab the camera. When I turn around, she gives me this wide-eyed look trying to gauge my reaction.


And when I started laughing, she joined in.


I don't think I've mentioned on the blog that Kylie prefers to eat with her right hand. Might be a sign of right-handedness? I'm left-handed and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I started noticing that she prefers her right hand after cleaning her eating smock these last few times. The right side is totally dirty while the left side of the smock is clean.
Of course, when you grab the spoon full of prunes, both hands get messy.


Kylie is pulling-up to stand everywhere. But she is having trouble getting back down. She prefers to sit down by grabbing onto my shirt and leaning back into my arms. I like it too because I get to hug and kiss her before she's away on some new task. Some times, Kylie just reaches for the carpet and plop...she's down. But most of the time she gets stuck standing up. Then she begins a torrent of sounds and expressions to ask me to help her down.
There is the excited, happy, "don't you want to hug me Mommy" look.

Then there is the gentle and sweet asking face.

And finally there is the glazed-eyed, "I'm so tired and my legs are getting wobbly" face.

All of them are irresistible.

Kylie has moved to Level 3 at Gymboree. At this level, she's in a class with 10-month to 16-month babies. She's loving being with the more active kids.

And finally, we said goodbye to our nanny today. The nanny we've had around once a week for the past 6 months is moving to another state. And I'm not looking forward to trying someone else. Our first nanny set a really high standard for anyone to follow.

Guess that's all for now. I hope you are having a good week.

A few layouts

Here are a few scrapbook pages:
This one tells the story of Kylie pulling up to standing for the first time.


And this one tells the story of her recent pull-up explosion. I really love how this one turned out.


And this is a simple page documenting our early valentine's day celebration (and my first night away from Kylie).


You can get a closer look and see the layout credits by clicking here and then clicking on each scrapbook page.

I hope you had a great weekend!

Ten Months Old

Kylie is ten months old today! Hurray!

We went to the park yesterday and I snapped a few pictures. I think she's looking more and more like a toddler (and less like a baby).

Pull-up explosion

I love it when Kylie's development takes a dramatic leap forward. Today was that kind of day!

Kylie has been pulling up since Jan. 30th but only on her Fisher Price kitchen toy and on us. But today, it all clicked in her head and muscles and she was pulling up EVERYWHERE!

It started with the laundry basket. She pulled up and grabbed her sleeper and waved it about as if to say, "I can help with the laundry, Mommy!"

Of course, this sent me running for the camera and I'm so glad I grabbed it because then she moved on to her toychest.

And then to her closet.

She would be down....

And then she would pop up....

And reach for toys!!

I am so proud of her! As I was snapping pictures like crazy, I felt such a connection to parents everywhere. I thought about how they probably rejoiced, just as I was doing, to see their little ones learn and grow. It's days like today when parenting is the greatest!
I simply must share just a bit more:




What an awesome day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Visit Pictures

Karen's parents are leaving Portland tomorrow morning. Look at this photogenic family:


Kylie liked sitting on her Papaw's lap.

And trying to go after and eat his shoes.

Nanny took Kylie to Gymboree.

And helped her crawl up and down the stairs.

And reminded her to use her baby sign language--"All done!"

It was wonderful to leave Kylie with her grandparents while Karen and I had some time alone. It was a lovely visit and we hope they have a safe trip home!

Visit

Karen's Mom and Dad are here in Portland with us for a few days. We're so glad they are here for a visit!

Wood floors

You might remember this post where I wrote that Kylie was hesitant to crawl on our wood floors. I knew as soon as I wrote it that things would change. And sure enough, a few days later she was scurrying around on the wood floor.

These were taken this morning. Here she is under the kitchen table.

Playing with her reflection in the dishwasher.

Climbing up and over the bottom of the kitchen desk.


And just having a grand, ole time!

I think this one is my favorite-- I call it "Little Bitty Baby and Great Long Hallway".