"Kaelyn and the Dog" or "Why I am in Trouble"

The title of this blog entry was difficult because I couldn't decide to label it what it really was, or label what the reaction to it was...so I chose both.

Aptly named "Kaelyn and the dog" you will see in these videos that Kaelyn's first word (other than mom and dad) is dog. Also, apparently Kaelyn thinks she is a dog and we have solved the problem of why the dogs never have water in their bowl.

However, I am now in trouble with the Mr. for continuing to film the video of Kaelyn instead of correcting her that she shouldn't be sticking her face in the dog bowl. I believe his exact words were "you better not post that, or you are going to get criticized because Kaelyn could have gotten a disease." Although I am not sure what disease she can pick up from lowering her face into a ceramic bowl that perhaps was shared by her canine friends, I am open to the criticism because it was all for your entertainment...so please enjoy, and hold your criticisms.


On a side note, Kaelyn went to the Dr. today for her 15 month visit. (NOTE: she did go to a pediatrician and not a veterinarian.) She is 31 and 1/2 inches tall and weighs 22 pounds. She is in the 75% for height for kids her age. She had to get one shot and didn't even make a noise, she just gave the nurse a dirty look and moved on. What a brave girl!

Reality Check

I guess when you have spent 13 of the last 40 days in Hawaii, your sense of the real world gets a little skewed, but its back to the grind for us. We flew home from our second trip to Hawaii on a red-eye Sunday, and it was back to work on Monday. Not to mention the host of things that had been neglected around the house that needed to be done. So now its back to juggling work, and school, and housework, and daycare, and errands, and I am contemplating going back to "school" myself.

Kaelyn had a great time in Hawaii... again. She did great on the plane, but our luck of having extra seats on the plane ended on the way home, so Charley and I spent 5 uncomfortable hours with her tossing and turning in our laps. At least it was a night flight, however, so she slept the whole trip.

Kaelyn really takes after her father, because she adores the water. The pool, the ocean, and yes, even the water slide (in her father's arms of course). She was so funny walking around the resort like she owned the place. She even learned how to wait at the elevators and walk in when the doors open. she never fails to amuse us. Some of the resent things that are enjoyable include her "dancing" (which looks something like the twist or just awkward head bobbing), her need to feed people and the dogs, even when all she has to offer is a piece of a cracker that's been in her mouth already but she still insists that you now need to eat, and my personal favorite, when she knows she is doing something wrong, but looks you dead in the eyes and continues to do it anyway. Like the other night when she was throwing her food off her highchair, and then stopped, looked right at me, slowly picked up a ravioli, moved her arm to the side, and then delicately opened her hand and let the ravioli fall. Why do people keep saying "well, she is YOUR child???"

Tales from Target

I still like my chair

Just Shopping

Taking apart Mom's tower

I really like this chair!

Bubbles at the Children's Museum

This is what all the other kids were doing

What am I supposed to do with these?

I learned a few things while at Target this morning.

1. When you are standing at one of life's crossroads, it can sometimes be a very difficult decision. Let me set the scene...Kaelyn is in the cart screaming and trying to rip the buckle off of her chest that is strapping her to the shopping cart. (and let me point out that we are only on aisle 2 and I can't undo the buckle, because she will stand up and climb over the side of the cart.) I am left with two choices. On the one hand, I can hold my ground and let her scream, allowing the wave of critical stares to befall me, but maybe teach a lesson that you don't always get what you want. On the other hand, I can reach up and take one of the food items off the shelf, rip it open, and let Kaelyn dive in, knowing that it will give me about 10 minutes of limited-interruption shopping time, but furthering in her mind that she runs the show. I learned that I am weak, and I do not run the show.

2. I also made a purchase that I can not decide if I should keep or return. On the one hand, it seems so practical, and on the other, so ridiculous. But yes, I do own a "harness buddy" which equates to an animal backpack with a leash. The leash being for Kaelyn.


3. Don't take a tired baby anywhere. It's my fault, I know, but I thought I could just squeeze in one little errand even though I knew Kaelyn was exhausted. She spent the first part of yesterday in Downtown San Diego at the Children's Museum, and the second half of the day in Riverside visiting with her Great-Grandparents. It ended up being futile anyway, because I forgot half the things I went to Target for in the first place. Oh well.


4. Target has tight aisles that are perfect for children to hide. Let's just say that she is getting fast, and being so small, she can weave in and out of displays very efficiently.

An Unnecessary Purchase

I confess, I had a Pottery Barn gift card that was burning a hole in my pocket. So when I happened to have ventured to a mall today that not only had a Pottery Barn, but a Pottery Barn Kids, I was elated. I had been wanting to get Kaelyn an armchair for her room because 1.) I think they are adorable, and 2.) She is starting to climb on everything, and I reasoned that this would be something good for her to climb on.

I was excited that they had them, but I thought that I would do the right thing and check with my better half because clearly the price of the chair exceeded the amount of my gift card. "Does she really need that?" he asked. "What, is the gift card going to go bad if you save it?" "I'm not saying no, I just think you need to really think it over before you spend money on a child's armchair," was his response.

I figured that the amount of time it took me to decide between the green or the purple polka dots constituted "thinking it over" so a few minutes later, I walked out with a green armchair.

Not 2 minutes after assembling it, this is the video I took. So when my child, who is clearly a genius and knows that a good armchair deserves a good book, is reading at an 8th grade level in Kindergarten, I will turn to Charley and tell him that I guess it wasn't an unnecessary purchase after all. Victory is mine.

Aloha from the Kukui Nut

Kaelyn trying out her hippo in the Pacific

Trying to figure out what to do with sand

LOVES shave ice!

It's a tradition to get our picture taken in front of this beautiful church...
now Kaelyn is in the picture!

"Tunnels" beach

What you do when your condo has no bathtub

Love this picture of them watching a monk seal

Destroying sand castles

We survived our first major vacation with Kaelyn, and she did wonderful! No problems on the plane, and we found out she loves the water as much as her dad. Even better, we figured out that a few hours in the sun and water is the perfect equation for a long nap from her as well!

I think Kaelyn is still on island time, however. Which was somewhat of a problem the first day we were in Kauai and she woke up at 4:00 am ready to play. But we have been home for a few days, and she has been getting up at 8:30! I could get used to this!

Besides getting faster and more adventurous, Kaelyn has also learned how to climb. Anything that is about 2 feet from the ground or lower is fair game, and we are still waiting for a major fall. She did walk right off the end of the couch the other day, but I caught her, so that doesn't count. She is also climbing into things, which is very amusing for me, because my mom has a picture of me climbing into the shelves of my changing table when I was little, and now Kaelyn is doing the exact same thing. She climbed into a side table in Hawaii, but I wasn't fast enough with the camera to get a good picture.

Fail.

Not sure what to think of the animals at the fair

Diva pose

Kaelyn's "Stinky Face"

Kaelyn helping to "organize" her linen cabinet

I had my first really embarrassing moment with Kaelyn today. Don't get me wrong, there have been lots of minor embarrassing moments that maybe I thought were mortifying at the time...until today.

Kaelyn and I were waiting in line at a restaurant dessert counter (I know, weird) and while we were waiting, Kaelyn was having a good time walking around the counter and the conveniently low shelves that she could pull strudel and other bakery items off. There were two guys in front of me, who were ordering their food and asking a hundred questions about what come in what and with what sides. As they were paying, Kaelyn momentarily removed her face from the glass counter that she was pressing her nose against, and reached up and grabbed the guy in front of us. Now, she has done this before, and most of the time she is just trying to steady herself so she doesn't fall, and usually strangers think it is cute. But in this particular instance, it was the location of where she grabbed that was cause for concern on the man's part. I won't go in to detail explaining what might be about her level when she is standing up and reaching upward. Worse yet, the man turned around and looked at me, and for a good 3 seconds, we had a very awkward stare-down until he finally looked down and saw Kaelyn. Although he was laughing at this point, he said that he had not noticed her and thought I had done this. So for future reference, I will try to keep Kaelyn a safe 4-5 feet from any other patrons.

The Good Old Days...

Do you remember the good old days? The days where you could leave Kaelyn on the floor or contained somewhere? The days where you picked up the house and it stayed that way for more than 3 and 1/2 minutes? The days where you only needed a bath every 3 days? Neither do I. Those days are long gone.

In the past week or two, Kaelyn has gone from walking with assistance, to taking a few steps, to taking about 10 steps, to walking. And for some reason, along with the walking came the path of destruction. Hurricane Kaelyn. She knows how to open cabinets, including the one that used to house a ceramic pitcher which has since been shattered, she knows how to unravel all of the toilet paper on a roll and then shred it, and don't tell her father, but I caught her drinking handfuls of water from the dog bowl while I was making dinner. I can't say that life is boring anymore.

We went to Nordstrom today to buy her first official pair of shoes, but to my dismay, Kaelyn has tiny feet, and the "walker" shoes don't come in as small of a size as she needs. Three stores later, I realized I might have to endure the stares of passerby shoppers a little longer when they see my daughter walking around stores with no shoes on. We tried a pair of "Robeez," which are nothing more than a little elastic and some leather, and I can only describe it as the scene from Birdcage when the housekeeper is asked to put on his shoes. This might not make sense to everyone, but is hilarious to those who remember the movie.

I found out something new last night. You really need to be selective when choosing children's books. Dad was reading to Kaelyn and from the bedroom I heard the following story:

"Oh no, Max! You spent our last dollar," said Ruby. "How are we going to pay for the bus ride home?" "Max reached into his OH SH*T!!!"

I had to wonder what kind of book Daddy was reading to Kaelyn, but then I realized he added that last little part when Kaelyn ripped the book from his hand and paper-cut him in the face.

Here is one minute of Kaelyn's busy day, and one minute I just couldn't help but post. I promise she is not drunk in the first video, and in the second video, you can witness Kaelyn's dramatic flare...apparently she already does not like the word "no."