Like mother, like Kaelyn

I woke up the other morning and tried to check the time on our alarm clock, but for some reason, I couldn't see the time. I reasoned that it was either too early, or seeing as though my Birthday was last week, maybe I was getting old. But as it turned out, we no longer have an alarm clock. Charley informed me that Kaelyn picked it up the day before and smashed it on the side table... shattering it. The best part was when Charley showed me the remains of the alarm clock, which pretty much consisted of a cord attached to the back of the clock, a broken face, wires and other parts falling out the front, and random metal pieces disconnected in a pile, and proceeded to tell me that he "thinks it is broken."

That's pretty typical for us these days. Kaelyn is a really, really good helper, but the only trouble is that the help she gives is not always the help we might be hoping for. She is really good at getting into the file cabinet and reorganizing the files, she can help unfold laundry when we haven't done it properly, she can take things off shelves, or hide things in them. She has learned to open doors, ring the doorbell, and flip the light-switches on and off, repeatedly and nonstop, and she has even learned how to mop the floors by shaking her sippy cup so milk spills in a nice trail on the floor and then going back over the trail with her hands and socks to clean the floors. She helps feed the dogs by throwing her food over the gate to them, she helps unload the dishes in the dishwasher onto the floor, and when I leave my laundry on her chair in our room, she helps relocate it for me. She is also becoming really adept at the skill of ignoring me. Oh, and she is dabbling in naked gardening, but I'll save that story for another time.

Needless to say, she is keeping us busy, and in all the craziness, I managed to have the time for a scary realization. I came to terms with the fact that this little girl is swimming in the deep end of my gene pool. As I sat back the other day, and watched her go from one activity to the other with endless energy, insist on doing things her way, push me aside when I tried to help her, and then command (and demand) the attention of all of the guests in our house, I realized that this might be a little me. Scary... just scary.


I would like to point out before you watch this video that Kaelyn absolutely knows what "sit down" means because she does it on the slide at the park almost every single day. This is a choice on her part.

Pumpkin Patch...take two.

So far, we have been to the pumpkin patch twice, and since neither experience produced great pictures, I wouldn't be surprised if I go back for a 3rd attempt.

The first try was last Wednesday, when Kaelyn and I went with her friends Kate and Asher. Besides the fact that it was 94 degrees in the middle of October, my camera died within minutes of being there. Which, come to think of it, was probably a good thing that it was unbearably hot, because just as we arrived, so did the fresh truck of pumpkins...and if you never experienced picking out a pumpkin with me, let's just say it is possible that I would have moved every pumpkin in sight to get the perfect one. Not to tall, not to wide, not too many lines, and definitely no bruises, marks, or other discolorations. I contemplated jumping into the truck as the workers were unloading the fresh pumpkins to look at each one as they put them on the ground, but seriously, what would I have done with Kaelyn?

The second attempt was last Sunday, and although I heard it would be busy, I was not prepared for what we experienced. Albeit that this is the only true pumpkin patch that I know of (not a fake pumpkin patch that is erected in a mall parking lot) and Charley warned me that parents from his school (over an hour away from the patch) were all talking about going, I did not expect the crowds that had gathered by 10 a.m. They had multiple staff people whose sole job was to wave cars in with orange flags and they were already directing people to the 3rd parking lot, since the first 2 were full. Additionally, the weather had changed 30 degrees in 3 days, and this was now a cold and rainy afternoon. The pumpkins were wet, the ground was muddy, and again, my camera died within minutes of being there. (**hint-hint** To my better half who may read this... MY CAMERA DIED AND MY BIRTHDAY IS IN 2 WEEKS). After about 15 minutes of fighting the crowds to try and get a picture, and then not being able to, and trying to huddle with Kaelyn under an umbrella, I told Charley I was over it and started walking back to the car. Although he was compliant, I did see the look of pain on Charley's face as we passed the bratwurst cart and he realized that he would be leaving without sampling the pumpkin patch cuisine.

So, despite our best efforts, we only got a few pictures of a less-than enthusiastic Kaelyn, but they are still pretty cute. Oh, and as a side note, Kaelyn wanted nothing to do with the pumpkins, but she really enjoyed climbing on the pallets of wood the pumpkins came in on.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I realized something profound today, so bear with me.

Yesterday, we took Kaelyn to Disneyland for the first time. I have been begging Charley to go for about 5 years, and he was reluctant to go when it was just him and me, and even more reluctant to take Kaelyn too young. He always told me that he would go when Kaelyn was old enough to remember it. Something about "I'm not spending $500 just so that blah blah blah..." Well as it turns out, what he meant was he would not be going until Kaelyn would remember it if he had to buy tickets, but since our tickets were free, it was an exception to the rule.

The day started off a little rough when we had to make two trips back to the house (although we were just down the street). And then when we finally reached the parking lots (which are now off-site and you have to take a shuttle to arrive at the theme parks) we both looked at each other with that "do you have the tickets?" look. So, back to the car I went... My first rides of the day was the Toy Story shuttle, and I got to ride it twice!

I had a theory that Kaelyn is too little to be scared, so we decided to really test the waters by starting out at the Haunted Mansion, which had been redone for Halloween. I am happy to report that either my theory holds true, or Kaelyn is just brave, but she was dancing to the ghosts and ghouls instead of screaming.

After that we hit up the Dumbo ride, which I have not been on in over 20 years, and might not go on again since I had the brilliant idea of riding it backwards so I could get a video of Kaelyn and Charley. Although the weather report said a high of 87, by this time, we were reaching 92 degrees, so after that we went to cool off in the air-conditioned Its a Small World. I found it amusing that even a 16 month old realizes that there is something creepy about those singing dolls.

Besides the heat, the day was perfect. We didn't wait more than 10 minutes for any ride, went on everything but the roller coasters, and Kaelyn was very well behaved. It was fun to try and guess which rides she would love and which ones were just OK. For the record, Charley was a better guesser than I was. I was convinced she would like the singing birds in the Tiki room, but she was more interested in the pineapple ice-cream outside the Tiki Room. And speaking of that ice-cream, I should also point out that Charley had read someone's blog about the must-eat places at Disneyland, and I am happy to report that he tried all of them. Where most people would select the one or two that seemed the best, my culinary competitor of a husband powered through all of them from the hand-dipped corn dogs, to the gumbo, to the po-boy sandwich, to the pineapple whipped floats and ice cream sandwiches. And I was right there the whole time too.

It was an absolutely perfect day.

Oh yes, back to the profound realization... When we were little and went to Disneyland, I always used to watch my mom sit on the benches off the rides and hold our belongings and it used to drive me crazy. I mean legitimately, it would upset me because I was convinced it was a cop-out for her not riding the rides. Either that, or I thought it was an attempt at martyrdom that we would certainly have to pay for later when she wanted something from us. I finally got it yesterday. There was no ride I needed to go on, no souveneir I needed to buy, and no plan that I had to stick to as long as Kaelyn was smiling. I sat off most of the rides so I could get videos, or pictures, and I would not have changed it for the world. So next time we go, you are all invited, but I will probably be sitting on the bench next to Nana watching Kaelyn.

Oh, and I know I spend a good deal of this blog ripping on Charley, but I would like to point out that he is an amazing dad. Even his hard-fast rules can be broken if it means bringing joy to Kaelyn. And I will point that I know she will not remember yesterday, but I will.

"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.