Big Girl Car Seat

Dave installed Kaitlynn's big girl seat into the car this morning and then took it up to St. John's Mercy to have it checked to ensure it was in correctly. The car seat is an Evenflo Generations Booster seat. It can only face-forward which I was a little concerned about. The instructions and things I've read online say that once a child is a year old and 20lbs. they can be front-facing. The lady that checked the car seat at St. John's said that she recommends babies being rear-facing until they are 18 months old. She said it is important because babies have big heads and don't have good head control. Kaitlynn does not have a big head and has really good head control. She really likes being forward-facing. We went to our Nursing Moms Group today and she enjoyed riding facing forward. She just looked at her Easter books and played with her phone. Then on the way home from the group, she fell asleep. I am not sure if we should look into getting a different car seat or what. I really liked having her face forward, but it's not about my convenience, it's about her safety. She goes to the pediatrician tomorrow, so I will ask her opinion. If it is not safe for her to ride in this seat, they shouldn't be able to sell them. All baby stuff seems to be this way. It's so frustrating because I just want to do what is safest and best for her.

First Black Eye??

While Dave was getting Kaitlynn dressed this morning / afternoon, she was crawling around in her room and fell. She hit her eye on her Sit to Stand Giraffe. We tried to put an ice pack on it, but she wouldn't leave it on there. It looked like it was going to bruise and it still might. It is bright pink. I tried to take a picture of it, but she wasn't interested in cooperating. My poor baby!

Toilet Paper Roll

Kaitlynn had a lot of fun yesterday playing with an empty toilet paper roll. She was carrying it around in her mouth and smashing it in her hands. Then I saw that she was actually eating it, so I had to take it away.

President's Club Update

I made President's Club with my Avon business! I knew I could make it, but didn't think I would do it this fast. I am also in the top 50 in my district. Being in the President's Club means I get a higher percentage off the products and I am able to order more demonstration products at a lower price. There are many other perks, too. So if you haven't stopped by my online Avon store, give it a look sometime.

Preparing to Walk

This article was helpful to me because we have been wondering what is going on with Kaitlynn. She was sleeping pretty good lately (unless she was having problems with teething or gas) and she was able to play by herself a little. These past few days she has been waking up more often and will not let me leave her side. This article said that this has to do with her preparing to walk. Kaitlynn has taken several steps on many occasions. She doesn't fall when she takes steps without holding on. She has good balance because she can stand on the bed without holding onto anything. She has also started climbing on things. I know that she is ready and could walk if she wanted to. For some reason she doesn't want to or doesn't feel the need to yet. Some days I wish she would just start walking already, but then other days I am glad she isn't walking. She is already into everything, but I know it will get worse when she starts walking.

Rash / Allergy

Monday after Jerry's visitation, we went to Pasta House for dinner with my parents. We all shared our food with Kaitlynn and at the end of the night she had a red circle on her nose and on her cheek. It looked like a rash, so I thought maybe she was allergic to something that we gave her. The only new thing she had was eggplant, unless it was from the sauce or spices. It went away within an hour or two. Since it went away so fast, I don't know if it was an allergic reaction or what. I thought when a baby had an allergic reaction to a food the redness lasted for a few days. Any ideas?

Alf Alfa

Kaitlynn slept so well Saturday night after we finally got her calmed down from her birthday excitement, that when she woke up Sunday her hair was sticking up. She doesn't have a lot of hair, but she has enough to have bed head.

Tuesday Playgroup

Kaitlynn and I attended the Tuesday Older Babies Playgroup this week. There were just 3 moms and 3 babies that attended - Kaitlynn and I, Lisa and Brendan, and Whitney and Ellie. One of the moms that normally attends on Tuesday (Arkay) wasn't there because she fell down some steps and broke her tailbone. We talked about possibly doing a sign-up sheet to take Arkay and her family meals and a sign-up sheet for watching her younger girls. I can't image how difficult that would be to be laid up in bed for several weeks, especially having a baby to take care of.

Wednesday Playgroup

Last Wednesday (the 20th) my friend Tara hosted a playgroup at her house for the Yahoo Mom's Group that she started. She served lunch to the moms. There were 6 moms, 6 babies, and 2 older kids that came. There was a good turn out. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Tara is hoping that the rest of us will be brave enough to host a playgroup at our houses. I am trying to get up the courage to set one up.

Threes

Saturday evening I found out that a friend of the family's (Rita) husband passed away Friday evening. He had lung cancer and in January was given 3 to 6 months to live. His visitation was held on Monday. We met my parents at the funeral home for the visitation. Rita and her kids seemed to be in good spirits. I guess they are just happy that he is no longer in pain.

I've heard deaths come in threes. My cousin Tina passed away earlier this month and now Jerry passed away. I am scared and concerned as to who the 3rd will be.

Pregnant

My friend Jill is pregnant! We found out the news at Kaitlynn's party on Saturday. My mom asked Jill and her husband Emil when they were going to have a baby. Jill said "Well, it looks like in September." I wasn't in the room, but Dave was. He came in and told me. I thought he was joking. I went in and asked Jill what was going on. She had been trying to find a time to tell me that day, but I was so busy running around, she didn't get to. She said she was about 8-9 weeks pregnant. I got an email from her yesterday with ultrasound pictures. It was sooo cool! The doctor said she is 13 weeks pregnant and her due date is September 3rd. I am so excited for them. They have been married for about 6 years, so it's about time!

Dress-Up Day

Last Thursday we didn't go to the Nursing Moms Group because of the weather. We played dress-up with Kaitlynn instead. We wanted to see which sweater looked better with her birthday dress.

We thought the pink sweater looked better.

Then we changed Kaitlynn into her pajamas before dinner and she continued to pose for the camera.

Tiger

Tiger is doing much better. On Thursday night, while Dave and I were trying to clean the house for Kaitlynn's birthday party, the abscess from his tooth burst. It was pretty gross and very bloody. We had to stop cleaning and take care of him. After that, he was so ornery, he refused to take his pill. He was back to feeling well!

Laptop / Internet Update

Friday night my dad and Dave got the internet working on the laptop. Yeah!! Of course, I have been so busy getting ready for Kaitlynn's 1st birthday party and then recovering from the party that I didn't get to enjoy it until today. I can now start blogging more regularly and reading my email.

Poor Tiger

Monday morning Dave came in the bedroom and told me that there was something wrong with Tiger’s eye. He said it was almost swollen shut and his cheek was puffed out. Tiger is my cat that I have had for almost 19 years. Tiger will be 19 on June 13th. I went out and looked at him. He was sitting on the loveseat. I was afraid he had a tumor or cancer. I love this cat. We have been through a lot together. Dave called Webster Groves Animal Hospital to make an appointment, but they couldn’t see Tiger until that evening. I called Concord Animal Hospital and they said they could see him at 1:30. Dave only had to work half a day, so the 3 of us took Tiger to his appointment. The vet said that Tiger was in good shape for a cat of his age. He only weighs 7.5lbs. He said that Tiger probably has an abscess tooth. He gave us an antibiotic to give him 2 times per day for a week and told us to use a warm compress on his cheek several times a day to try to massage the blood and puss out. They don’t want to do surgery on him because of his age; putting him under anesthesia would be too dangerous. If the pills don’t work and they are forced to do surgery, he would have to be awake. This could be dangerous because if Tiger moved while they were cutting him, he could be hurt very badly. I hope that the pills and warm compresses help.

Poor baby

New Camera

Sunday afternoon Dave bought a new digital camera. It is a Canon Power Shot A560. It’s pretty similar to the Nikon Coolpix L5 that we had. I was using our old Olympus digital camera. That thing is so huge and I just can’t get used to it. The Canon takes really good pictures. I think I am really going to like it. I hope this camera lasts awhile. It seems we were buying a new digital camera every year or year in a half. We bought an extended warranty with this camera, so it will at least last two years. The extended warranty was very inexpensive (a lot cheaper than it would cost to have the camera looked at or repaired if it breaks). Here are some pictures I’ve taken with the new camera.

Going to Grandma's for dinner on Sunday.

Playing with mom's shoes.

At MawMaw and PawPaw's for dinner on Monday.

Valentine's Day

Kaitlynn and I slept until about 11AM. She has had a hard time going to sleep these last few nights because of the excitement of the birthdays. So we slept in. Dave was home when we woke up and he said he had gifts for us in the kitchen. Dave had a Valentine’s balloon, red tulips, a toblerone, chocolate covered macadamia nuts and 2 cards waiting for us.

The balloon was mainly for Kaitlynn because she likes them. Dave bought the red tulips for me because the last time we were in the store I mentioned I thought the tulips were pretty. Toblerone is my favorite candy bar and the macadamia nuts were a remembrance of Hawaii (from 2004). Kaitlynn and I gave Dave some pictures we had taken of us at JcPenney and shave cream and body wash.

Kaitlynn had fun opening her Valentine gift. She liked trying to eat the tissue paper. She liked the love bug, but was a little afraid of its voice. The voice sounds kind of alien. She also got some love bug pajamas, a love bug book and finger puppet, and a love bug washcloth.

Kaitlynn and I went to the Nursing Moms Group and then met my parents for dinner at Steak n Shake. My parents gave Kaitlynn a white bear with red hearts on it for Valentine’s Day. The other day Kaitlynn received a Valentine’s book and card from Dave’s cousin Carol.

Uh!

Kaitlynn’s new favorite word is "Uh". On Tuesday evening, I was eating a TJ's Pizza (an early birthday gift) and Kaitlynn kept saying "uh" like "where’s mine?" So we decided to let her try a small piece. She loved it and after she would finish each piece she would bang on her tray and say "Uh".
TJ’s Pizza is one of my favorite pizzas, so Dave called to find out what stores sell them and bought 2 for my birthday.

Mall Play Area

Friday Kaitlynn and I went to West County Mall play area with the Yahoo Mom’s Group. A friend from Kangaroo Kids started this group. Anyway, this was the first time Kaitlynn has played at the mall play area. She seemed to like it. There was this little boy that was probably about 3 years old that came over and kissed her on the cheek. I wiped her cheek off and his mom came over to say sorry. Then he started trying to poke at Kaitlynn’s face. His mom told him to be gentle. He tried poking at her face again. Then he laid on the ground and started to kick at Kaitlynn. I don’t think he was trying to be mean. His mom said her son was obsessed with Kaitlynn. After playing in the play area, we ate lunch in the food court, and then walked around a little bit. We also picked up Kaitlynn’s 11 month pictures from JcPenneys. They are so adorable!

Nursing Moms Group

Kaitlynn and I attended the Nursing Moms Group yesterday. It was nice because we didn’t go last Thursday due to the weather and we didn’t attend playgroup on Tuesday either. Kaitlynn’s little friend Gabriel was there. She loves to eat his snacks. I think she thinks they taste better than her own. It was so cute seeing them sitting next to each other eating snacks. Gabriel actually gave Kaitlynn the snack he had in his hand. I should have taken their picture. Oh well. Group was kind of sad, too. Kaitlynn and I started attending the group in May of 2007. I remember being there with Kaitlynn on my lap and seeing these moms with their older babies and the moms chasing the babies around. Well, now I am one of those moms! Tara is one of the moms I remember seeing the first time Kaitlynn and I attended. It’s been great getting to know her and some of the other moms (Emily and Eileen, just to mention a few). Yesterday, Tara and I were chasing our girls around and I just thought "oh my gosh, we are the moms with the older babies now!" Kaitlynn is the oldest out of the babies that regularly attend now. It’s just crazy how time flies! But it sure has been fun. I am very thankful for this group. Some weeks it’s our only outing. I look forward to this group every Thursday. I can’t wait to see how the babies have changed or what they’ve learned in the last week. The group has it’s regulars and new moms attend, too. Or moms just stop in because they have a question and then never come back to the group. Some are pregnant and just want to see what they have to look forward to. And some moms attend until they go back to work. The regulars are Tara (Bailey), Emily (Ella), Eileen (Gabriel), Lark (Dorian), Arkay (Freya), Lisa (Brendan), Whitney (Ellie), Julie (Alana), and of course me (Kaitlynn). I hope that when Kaitlynn is too old for the group (or she is no longer nursing), we still keep in contact with the moms and babies we’ve met. I hate to think about not going to the group anymore, but I guess eventually we will have to stop going. I am not sure when that will be, but I am not looking forward to it and I’m sure Kaitlynn isn’t either.

My Old Job

I went to visit my old work for the first time since May 2007. I used to work for the Missouri Department of Mental Health – St. Louis Regional Center. The last time I was there was to clean out my desk, which was pretty sad because I enjoyed working there. I started working at the Regional Center in January 2006. I had a caseload of 50 to 60 clients that lived in the North County area. I enjoyed my job, but did not like the political crap that went along with it. I really liked everyone on my team. They were all so supportive. I did wish that they were more interested in socializing. I mean they were very friendly and talkative at work, but not interested in going out for a drink afterward. Actually, I never asked if anyone wanted to go out after work, so maybe they would have. Many of them were older than I and had families. We were overworked because we had caseloads that were too big. In many of our caseloads we had several emergency situations and / or "high profile" clients. When I told my supervisor that I wasn’t returning, she decided to take a different position within the Regional Center. She said that my decision to not come back, led her to decide to change positions. I was afraid that my team mates would be mad at me. I told them I was coming back and I thought I was, but after I had Kaitlynn I just couldn’t do it. Kaitlynn also refused to take a bottle, so that didn’t help much. I was afraid that they were so stressed from having to take the clients from my caseload that they wouldn’t want to talk to me. I did email with one team mate (Nikki) every once in awhile. Well, Nikki ordered some Avon from me and asked if I could bring it to work. She said people would enjoy seeing me and she hadn’t met Kaitlynn (in person). So I went up there yesterday. It was great to see everyone. I was happy to hear the new supervisor had decreased their caseloads to less than 40 clients. They seemed to be happy and not stressed out. I was glad about that. It was nice catching up with some of them. However, there were a few people that weren’t there that I would’ve liked to have seen - maybe next time.

Don't Try This At Home

On Wednesday, while I was putting Kaitlynn in her high chair, she turned herself around to sit backwards (before I could belt her in). I thought it was funny and grabbed the camera that was sitting close by. When I went to take the picture, Kaitlynn decided to turn into a stunt devil and stand up. Don’t worry no babies were harmed while I was taking this picture. Dave was right there with Kaitlynn.
Look no hands!!