Happy Thanksgiving

This morning Kayla woke to be fed around 3:45. Afterwards, she didn't seem tired, but I laid her back down in her crib and tried to go back to sleep. Even without the monitor, I was able to hear her talking to herself at the other end of the hall.

And even at that hour I couldn't help but think about how I thankful I am for her.

Aaaaaand we're back.

Sorry for not posting lately; I know some were looking for updates.  Last week found both Shaun and Kayla not feeling well.  Kaya woke up last Monday night having coughing fits and crying.  I was able to feed and soothe her, but she obviously wasn't well.  I took her to the doctor on Tuesday and was told she had a virus and it had to run its course.  That didn't seem so bad at the time because she'd been relatively OK besides the cough.  After the appoinment, she developed congestion and by Wednesday she was running a fever.  I stayed home with her as much as humanly possible, burning my remaining PTO in the process. 

I've always heard parents say that it's incredibly hard to stand by when you have a sick child.  Understatment of the year.  I wanted to cry watching her struggle to breathe, listening to her cough until she choked and spit up, rocking her when she struggled to sleep because she cough kept waking her up, feeling how warm her skin was while she was feverish... I would have done ANYTHING to take all of that away from her. 

Thankfully by Saturday morning the fever had broken.  After 24 hours of no Tylenol, I declared that battle won.  She's still struggling with the congestion and the coughing fits are still present though not as violent as they were.  Sleep still isn't coming easy, but it's getting better little by little.  Last night she was only up one time to eat, which was her normal schedule. 

I'm really hoping that having the next 3 days to relax at home with Shaun helps her get better so she's good to go visiting on Thursday.  I'm excited for the long weekend for us to hang out, enjoy good food and maybe even do a little shopping for the munchkin while we are off.  I just have to survive the next 3 days first...

A day off and two firsts...

In case I haven't mentioned it, I love banker's holidays.  We took full advantage of my day off by going for two firsts... to mixed reviews. 

First, I finally remembered to try Kayla's first pair of baby legwarmers on her.  Love.  Love, love love.  They are absolutely adorable, and they make diaper changes a breeze.  Now she can lounge around in a onesie and her legs will stay toasty warm. 

For the second, I need to back up to last week.  At her 4-month checkup, the doctor gave us the green light to start Kayla on rice cereal.  I was a little hesitant since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends giving baby only breast milk until she's 6 months old, but we figured since the doctor said it was OK that we would go for it.  So tonight we finally put her in her high chair for the first time.  I gave her a sippy cup with some water in it to help her get used to that while I warmed the milk for the cereal.  I showed her how that worked but she still doesn't quite have enough control to do it on her own yet. 

Then we got to the good stuff.  As you can see, the initial reaction was not exactly favorable. 

After a few spoonfuls, the attitude changed though.  She got the hang of opening her mouth for the spoon and letting me pour little bits of cereal/breast milk soup into her mouth.  As expected, more of the cereal made its way down her chin than down her throat.  It was still good practice though and I look forward to making this a regular part of our evening routine. 

What a difference a year makes...

November 9,  2008

November 9, 2009

Wow. 

Happy 4 Months!

Dear Kayla,

It's hard for me to express how amazing this last month has been.  There have been so many changes, and you're learning and doing so much.  I thought you had personality before!  Now I am really starting to see who you are. 

You're now rolling from your back to your belly and back again.  I love the way you look up and grin when you're on your tummy playing.  We've seen you start to take a real interest in your toys; figuring out how to grab things and make them make as much noise as possible on their way to your mouth is such fun! 

I can tell you are seeing better, because when you wake up in your swing, you smile at us from across the room.  You also seem to recognize our voices, smiling without even seeing us most of the time.  You still really love bath time, and tonight you splashed with your little feet for the first time and seemed to get a great amount of joy out of that. 

I hope someday you will understand how much your daddy and I love you.  I look at you with awe and love and pride every moment.  It still takes my breath away to realize how much you mean to me, and I still have to pinch myself sometimes to know that this really is happening - you really are the little girl I've dreamed of having for so long.  You're really here and you're ours.  I am so lucky that you chose me to be your mommy.  I love you, little angel. 

Love always -

Mommy

Happy Halloween!

How little miss Kayla spent the better part of her first Trick or Treat night:

While her cousins were out gathering candy:

When she woke up, she was less than thrilled about being put in a penguin suit, but indulged us anyway. 

Although it didn't exactly go as we'd hoped (a late/short nap, an epic meltdown, a rushed feeding in the middle of it all) we still enjoyed her first ToT night, and look forward to walking around with the gang next year.  I'm already plotting the next adorable costume for her; I really enjoy the fact that until she's a little older, I get to choose.  ;-)

Rolling over! And over, and over...

Last night I got to see Kayla roll from her back to her belly and then right over onto her back again!  She rolled two or three times across the living room floor until the recliner got in her way.  Now I know the secret is to put her right on the carpet instead of on her blanket.  I guess I need to run the vacuum when I get home, just to be sure it's extra clean!  I'll try to get a video of it tonight when I get home. 

Can't wait for tonight!

Go Phillies! 

For some extra phun, check out the hilarious shirts at Birdland. 

My right wrist/hand

Has gone from numb to in excruciating pain.  But it's done now.  I got the cortisone shot, and by the end of the week, I hope to have two wrists that are as good as new!

Growing into things

It's truly amazing how fast these little ones grow.  We tried putting Kayla in her jumperoo for the first time last week.  She's still a little small for it, but she really lit up when she saw the array of bright colors and fun things to play with.  Hopefully as her neck gets a little stronger, she will be able to spend more time in it. 

She's rolling like crazy now too!  She rolled from her back to her belly for the first time last Saturday, and all of a sudden on Friday she decided it was something she wanted to try again.  And again and again.  She rolls over and then lifts her head up to look for our approval.  It's too cute. 

It's amazing how much she will still do even with a completely stuffed up head.  We were set to go visit Adam, Kristen, Trevor and Addison last week, until Kayla's cold ramped up again.  I really don't want to pass that on to Addison, so we opted to stay home.  We did go over to Matt's place for football on Saturday, and she was really pleasant all day despite only two short naps. 

Each day is more and more fun for us; I am so looking forward to putting her in her Halloween costume on Friday!  Here's hoping she holds up OK for a walk around the neighborhood and that it's not too cold!