Happy Halloween, kinda ...

So we had grand plans for Halloween. We were going to drive around to friends' houses and show off the kid ... or we were going to head over to Tucson Electric Park and hit the big free celebration the city puts on ... but Kaylee didn't think we should go out.

We got her dressed about an hour ago – and she's just now settling down. Despite being dressed as a bee, she's insisted on being a monster since we got home. ;-)

Oh well, it's probably a good thing. We wouldn't want her to rot her only two teeth out with candy overload.

Headband. Too. Tight. Must ... scream ...

It looks better on Mom anyway.

Kaylee's alternate costume – Nick Nolte's police booking mug.

Taken right after Rae yelled at the kid for trying to grab the candle.
And yes – the blur is intentional.

She did look cute once she settled down and smiled a bit.
Though she still wouldn't wear the headband.

Kaylee today: A little more trick than treat.

Coated.

Grammy got Kaylee a couple of new coats for her trip to Illinois. I don't think she likes this one too much. She seems to be channeling "A Christmas Story" ...

"I can't put my arms down! I can't put my arms down!"

Eleven months

It's officially been eleven months as of today. (Which means it's just over two weeks until vacation. Woo!) And what did Kaylee do to celebrate?

She woke up an hour early screaming her head off until I got up to get her. Then she spent the next hour bouncing around our bed, eating, playing and chasing the cats.

She is currently banging the dog bowls together and getting pretty grumpy. She gets like that when she's tired.

Did I mention she got up an hour early? ;-)

Kaylee today: Sleepygrumpytiredcrabby.

Bleak house

So we had big plans for the weekend. Carve a pumpkin. Dress Kaylee up in her costume and take her to the Halloween event at the zoo. Do a lot of house work. (Yeah, that part wasn't so much fun – but it was in the plans.)

Well, Rae was sick all day Saturday. So we didn't go to the zoo. (Though I did get a lot of cleaning done.)

Then Sunday it was my turn to be sick. I was huddled up on the couch wearing a hooded sweatshirt and that got Kaylee all excited. Seems she thought I was playing peek-a-boo. So she came over and pulled my hood over my eyes.

That made me feel a little better. (And Rae did the rest of the cleaning. That also helped.)

Now Kaylee seems to be coming down with something. (Or maybe it's just teething – you would not believe the amount of drool one child can produce.) One way or another we'll get that costume on her Wednesday. I'm just hoping we can come up with some kind of event to take her out too.

Kaylee today: Boogerish.

Multiple post Wednesday

You go days with nothing new and then BAM – I hit you with four (yes, I count this one) posts in one night. I just totally rawked your world.

Kaylee today: Busy.

MAIL CALL!

Kaylee got mail today. She likes mail. Especially mail Mom and Dad will let her eat and tear up and crawl around the house with. Thanks GG!

Mmmmm ... food.

Apparently, Kaylee skipped lunch today. (Which is soooo unlike her.) They put her in the seat and she just didn't want to have anything to do with the normal fare. We figured she wasn't feeling well (or teething), but then we got her home.

She wouldn't eat for us either. Not apples. Not green beans. Not nothing. So we opened up a fresh banana – and she went to town on it. So we gave her some cheese and a tortilla to kind of round out the meal.

Isn't she a little young to be refusing to eat unless she can feed herself? Maybe she finally realized what those couple of teeth are for.

It's a little slower than crawling ...

Can't believe I haven't posted much in the line of walking photos yet. She may have a hold of my finger in this one ... but she's not limited to hanging on to Dad. I'll see if I can't get some video put together sometime soon.

(And wow, could my shirt have ANY more wrinkles?)

Hanging out with the big kids

Because they were short a teacher today, Kaylee got moved to the 1-year-olds room during lunch. Kaylee was chosen to go because she's "the most advanced kid in her class." Which means she's the oldest. But as a father, I'm partial to the other description. Daycare tells us they'll start putting her in there more often to try and get her ready to move next month. (NEXT MONTH!?!) Maybe she'll pick up some tips on walking while she's there.

But daycare pushed their luck when they tried to give Kaylee whole milk after they ran out of the home-made variety. The bottle was promptly rejected.

Guess she's not getting weaned anytime soon.

Gourd hunting

It's October. Which means Halloween is right around the corner. So Kaylee needs her first pumpkin, right? For the past few years we've been traveling about 20 miles outside of town to pick our gourd from an honest to goodness pumpkin patch. This year the kid made her first trip.

Pumpkin carving photos to come as soon as we get off our butts and actually do it.

On the way there in her new car seat. (The one that came with the box.) Doesn't she look excited?

High winds and lots of dust make for some interesting facial expressions.

This pumpkin wasn't good enough. It made Kaylee sad.

Cruisin' the patch with Dad in tow.

This one makes Kaylee much happier.

After determining that it could stand up on it's own – the gourd came home with us. All 13 pounds of it.

A family self-portrait with dirt and shadow.

Kaylee today: Dirty.

So, what's new?

I'm home sick. So what do I do? Sit in front of the computer all day, doing what office work I can remotely – and updating the blog. (The blog isn't office-related, it's strictly for your pleasure.)

We bought a car seat the other day. One of those fancy forward-facing deals. (Even though she's still too small to use it – which is why it's still sitting in my living room.) But the car seat isn't the interesting part.

We got a box.

And kids, they love the box.

So we have about a million photos. Kaylee in the box. Cat in the box. Dad in the box. Mom in the box. And combinations of those. But rather than post all those, I opted for the video. Why? Because I wanted to play around with the software.



I'm sure you'll love it. And if not? I'm sure you'll tell me.

Kaylee today: Lumbering.

Back from Boston

I pahked the cah in Hahvad Yahd (actually, I took a cab), and all Kaylee got was this stupid t-shirt.

Best sound in the world

Talking to your daughter on the phone (from Boston) and hearing her giggle and say "dad"?

Priceless.

When I grow up ...

I want to be a dentist.

Animals in cages!

I was going to post some pictures from our trip to the zoo. (Rae and the kid fed the giraffe in a "blink and you'll miss it" moment.) But I got to playing around with iMovie some more – which means more YouTube for Kaylee's adoring fans.

All 20 of you.

Kaylee today: Chatty.

UPDATED! Now with subtitles you can actually read!

She does love the kitties ...

Gabby usually stays an arm's length away – but every now and then Kaylee gets a handful of fur. And that is usually followed up by a hand on the collar. Which is followed by a hand on each ear. Which is ...

Max is usually the one who is most successful at avoiding the kid. But since we've started propping the door open with the fan, Kaylee's learned that it doubles as a kitty trap.

Max hasn't figured that out yet.

Wish I had a camera

Kaylee's been less interested in her finely pureed baby food and more and more interested in what we've got on our plates. (In fact, I really can't remember the last time I fed her "baby" food.) I'll sit in my chair, and Rae in hers, and Kaylee will bounce between us begging for bites.

I think she got that from Eddie.

Well tonight's dinner was a nice batch of scrambled eggs with cilantro and a side of fresh chorizo cooked with tomatoes, onions and poblano peppers. Not exactly spicy (by Tucson standards) but it does have a little bit of kick to it.

Well, Kaylee wanted some. We tried to placate her with tortillas (she LOVES tortillas), but she just wouldn't take no for an answer. So Rae gave her a little bite.

She chewed it up ... seemed to like it ... looked like she was going in for more ...

Then she stood up, stuck out her tongue, put both hands in her mouth and started raking what little food was left out onto the floor. She hated it so much she wouldn't accept anything else from Rae. She wouldn't even take her cup of water.

Now if we could only find a way to break Eddie of the habit.

Kaylee today: Well-seasoned.

Like father ...

Kaylee has learned a lot by watching me.
At the end of a long day, all she wants to do is crash.

(By the way – TEN MONTHS - can ya believe it?)

Kaylee today: Dirty.

And again

Four steps today. Not bad for a little sick girl.

Kaylee today: Still crappy.

Steppin' out

Kaylee finally decided to take a couple of steps in my presence. And Rae just happened to be snapping pictures at the time. This is really more of a before and after ... but you get the general idea.

In other news, the girl is a bit under the weather. She's got a case of Montezuma's Revenge – without the benefit of a vacation south of the border. She's got it so rough - no diaper can contain her. As a matter of fact – she just crapped in my lap. (I'm sure she's going to love reading that in 10 years.) She's been cranky all week – even waking herself up at night. And that hasn't happened for a long time.

On the up side, kinda, she's ravenous. She's been eating and eating and eating. Maybe she'll actually fill out those pants we just bought her. (Right now they're the same fit as what you see on the average teenage boy at the mall.)

Kaylee today: Crappy.

A couple of pics from The German

Rae taking a picture of ... well, I'm not sure. It looks like she's shooting the wall. This is why you rarely see me in a picture.
You can't trust Rae with a camera.

I don't know what Andreas was thinking with this shot. He really should have cropped out that doofus on the right.

We climbed the mountain

Actually, we drove it. Because My Favorite German was in town. And because we wanted pie.

The drive was great. The weather was better. The pie? Not as good as promised ...

Andreas doing what he does best. Or used to. He's just an editor these days.

It is important to teach your children how to act appropriately while in public.
This is clearly a "do as I say, not as I do" situation.

Don't worry. It wasn't dangerous. It's just a couple of feet down.
Really.*

Rae and Andreas don't approve of my parenting skills.

Before you decide that I'm a horrible father, I just wanted to point out that Rae didn't even bother to hold the kid. She just let her crawl all over the rocks. For shame!

*Note: This photo is REALLY deceptive. At no time was Kaylee at any risk. Or at least not any more risk than she is already at simply by being my daughter. Given that – we're actually lucky she didn't jump.

Kaylee: By the numbers

2: Number of teeth currently working their way through her gums.

4: Number of consecutive steps she's taken (before just giving up, sitting down and crawling).

5: Maximum number of minutes you have to get her changed and dressed in the morning before she goes crazy wanting to eat.

6: Number of "words" she uses on a regular basis. Mom (rather obvious), Dad (again), dog (usually when she is chasing or has cornered them), no (usually heard around bedtime – or when she's just being ornery), done (at the end of a meal or a bath) and what (her most common word – used when encountering anything new – or just for the hell of it.)

12: Number of big nasty bug bites up and down her legs.

75: Percent of dinner that ends up on the floor or in the dog when she feeds herself.

4: Hours she naps on any given day during the weekend.

0.5: Hours she naps on any given day during the week.

Too many to count: Number of times I've had to watch the singing kitties.

More steps.

This time at day care. So once again I don't get to witness them.

When Rae picked up the kid yesterday she asked how her day had been. The teacher told her, kind of sheepishly, that Kaylee took a few steps a few days ago. When Rae told her that she'd already done that at home the teacher was very relieved.

One of the things we worried about when we put Kaylee into day care was missing out on "the firsts." It's good to know that our day care people understand that and are willing to put off telling us about them in hopes that they will happen "first" at home.

Kaylee today: Still sleeping.

Bring the noise

First Rae shows her the toilet paper. The she willingly gives Kaylee a wooden spoon and a pot. I'm not sure that I can trust my wife any more.

Nothing to report

Nothing much going on here. No more steps or other firsts of note to report. But I do have photos. And I know how you guys like photos:

I've got no witty caption for this one. I just thought she was cute.

Can't ever get enough pictures of her lovin' on the Eddie.

Oh yeah, she found the toilet paper. Thanks for that Rae. :-P

Kaylee today: Fickle.

A left, then a right ...

"Congratulations. You have taken your first step into a larger world."

First official steps today.

While I was out of the room, of course.

She's been standing on her own for quite a while now. Well – seems that isn't enough. She wanted Mom. Mom was far away.

So move the left foot ...

Now the right foot ...

Now fall on your butt.

No pictures or video because, as I said before, I was in the other room. Rae is more interested in actually witnessing these firsts than trying to capture them for all of you.

Mom's can be so selfish. You may begin poking fun at her ... now.

Kaylee today: Wobbly.

Twins!

Looks like Kaylee's tooth has a friend moving in next door. Just in time for the weekend!

Guess who's going to be watching the singing kitties all day?!

...

Kaylee today: Cutting.

Shoot me now

Baby + teeth + fever = One grumpy monkey.

Kaylee is in a pretty foul mood most of the time. Fever this weekend. Didn't want to eat last night. Doesn't want to be held. Doesn't want to be put down. In fact, I've only stumbled on one thing that will appease her.

I found this on another blog. It's owner was as disturbed by this as I am.



But Kaylee loves it. She stares, laughs, reaches for the kitty ... And as long as it takes her mind off of how bad she feels, I'll continue to play it.

Hell is filled with singing kitties. Won't you join me?

Kaylee today: Meow?

Beauty and the Beast*

Normally, Pork Chop is a bit skittish. Just a bit. Especially when it comes to Kaylee. But every now and then he allows himself to be man-handled.

"Love the Pork Chop."

"Dug. Dug. Dug. Screech!"

"OK, that's enough. I'm taking my ball and going home."

Kaylee today: Medicated (that tooth isn't done with her yet)

* The dog. Not me. I'm looking at you Maggie.

Clink, clink, clink

So we took Kaylee over to our friends' house this evening for dinner (burgers and hot dogs) and a movie (Blades of Fury – I highly recommend it). Kaylee sat on my lap and happily munched away on bits of hamburger and bun.

Then she wanted a drink. So I offered her my glass of water.

"Clink, clink, clink ..."

After a moment of trying to think of what could possibly be causing the noise I stuck my finger in her mouth. And – being a baby, she did what babies do when something goes in their mouth – she bit me.

Only this time it hurt a little.

You see, the monkey has finally popped her first tooth. (In front, on the bottom.) After months of speculating that she was teething – and daycare speculating that she was teething – she gets her first incisor with nary a whimper. Though that could have been what the late-night grumping was about this week.

I was surprised by how sharp the little bugger is. I guess it did have to work it's way up through her gums. All I know is I'm thankful I'm not the one breast feeding.

Kaylee today: Toothy.

A visit with the Doctor of Babies

Nine month checkup. Time flies, eh?

Doc was very impressed with Kaylee's physical development (crawling, standing, etc.) and not so worried about her lack of teeth. When we told him she doesn't "talk" much he said she was probably just going to start out quiet or shy.

Since the appointment she's been Little Miss Chatterbox.

She's weighing in at just over 17 pounds now. And she's 27 inches tall.

That means Mini-Me only has four inches on her. But I'm pretty sure her vocabulary is more extensive than his.

Cranky baby

You know – she just really hates getting out of the bath. Especially when you try to dry her hair. And body lotion? Forget it.

Kaylee had her first rough night in a loooong time last night. She was a little cranky all evening – but nothing too out of the ordinary. When she went to bed at eight, she went down like a rock. But sometime around 11:30 she decided it was cranky time.

And even though it's never fun to listen to a screaming child when you're trying to sleep – she was still cute. She'd fuss a bit, sit up, let out a good scream and double over and sleep. Wait 30 seconds and repeat.

Never did figure out what her problem was – but after an hour or so she finally settled down. Maybe she's finally working on some teeth?

Kaylee Mike today: Sleepy.

Kaylee weekend update

* She's up another diaper size. I can't get over how big they seem on her. But I was saying the same thing about her size twos – which you can barely get around that belly these days.

* Her first real word (witnessed by two people) is "dog." She said it about 5-7 times today. All while she was loving on Eddie or chasing Pork Chop. Granted – it sounds a lot like "da" but different enough to satisfy even a skeptic like me.

* She's getting too big for her car seat – it's about time to go buy a new one. Problem with that is I drop her off at day care and Rae picks her up. Her current car seat travels with her – the new one would stay in the car.

Which means we would need two. And those things aren't cheap ...

* Speaking of seats – she hates her highchair. So it can be difficult to get her to eat. Though she is very interested in whatever is on my plate. So she gets a little bit of food there ... not much though.

Kaylee today: Screaming. (We say it's bedtime – and she doesn't agree.)

Feeding Herself II: The Spaghetti Incident

We decided to try letting the kid feed herself again. Spaghetti this time.

She's still not real sure about this whole "feeding herself" thing.
She only ate about five "bites" – the rest of the time she was just trying to flip her plate over.

Kaylee today: Sauced.

Poor Eddie

What do you think of Kaylee's new Dog Skin Rug?*

*Just in case you're wondering – Eddie is fine. No need to panic.

From the editor's desk

This isn't the kind of blog where you would expect to read rumors and hearsay. I like to think that this site has a certain level of integrity when it comes to things like that. We do not cite anonymous sources and each fact that we publish must be corroborated by two independent and credible sources.

Unless it is the editor's opinion, which is 99% of what makes up this site. But I digress.

A story was brought to our attention today. It is alleged that Kaylee spoke her first real word this afternoon. This story is backed up by only one source – the child's mother. We have only agreed to publish her account after a certain "special interest group" weighed in during an unsolicited phone call this evening. We are not claiming that we fear for our lives – but the caller has threatened us with physical harm in the past.

Rae claims that at approximately 2:30 this afternoon, while feeding Kaylee in the dining room, the child began to get fussy. As she often does, Rae asked "Are you done?" and held the empty spoon to be seen. She claims that the child clearly replied "Done," and looked quite proud of herself after the fact.

We cannot confirm the child's actions as the father was in the other room doing something we are sure was very important. No other credible witnesses were available at this time – dogs don't count.

Kaylee declined to comment for this article.

Oh - by the way

Saturday started the official 100 day countdown to Kaylee's first birthday.

Mark your calendars. Punch and pie will be served.

Not much to say

Kalyee learns how to put Dad in his proper place.

No big update this weekend. Sorry. I spent all day Saturday at work (I hear it's genetic – right Dad?) and most of this morning either playing with the kid, sprawled out on the couch or painting the "ugly bathroom."

Therefore you, Kaylee's faithful following (and by default my loving audience), are left wanting more. Them's the breaks. Things are getting really busy around here – so posts may become a little less frequent. Or – with everything going on – I may find more to post about.

I guess you'll just have to keep checking.

Kaylee today: Squeaky.

All she wants for dinner

Mmmmm ... toes.

WE WANT PHOTOS! WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

Kaylee's weekend wasn't exciting. But I took pictures anyway.
It's what dads do. That's just how I roll.

We've started feeding her from our plates. (The kid likes Tuna Helper – she must get that from Rae.) So we decided to fix her a plate of her own Friday night. Chicken and mashed potatoes. It took her about ten minutes to figure out that she could EAT the stuff.

(The fact that she is pictured with a spoon in her mouth should in no way indicate that she has the slightest idea of how to operate it.)

Don't let the photo fool you. She HATES this hat. She spent five screaming minutes trying to tear it off. Finally we took it off and opted for the covered mega-stroller (pictured below).

Kaylee's view (sorta) of our walk this weekend. I'm tempted to tie the dogs to the stroller and just teach her to yell "MUSH."

On our trip to the grocery store Kaylee was told what a cute little boy she was by three different people. (Despite the fact that she's wearing a skirt.) I'm going to buy her a shirt that says "I'M A GIRL DAMMIT!"

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... KICK ... 2 ... 3 ...

Kaylee today: Loud.

What she means when she says ...

She's got all kinds of squeals, grunts and farty noises, but Kaylee still really only has one word. "Dadadadada" ... which she tends to say when she's hanging out with me or interested in something I have.

But, she has also taken to saying it when she's excited about something. Food, animals, toys, her feet, whatever. And it's only good things. "Dadaddadadada" never means "I just pooped my pants."

So, if "Dadada" = Me.
And "Dadada" = awesome.
Therefore, Me = awesome.

It's a perfect argument. If you say I'm wrong then you're speaking out against my very cute baby. You may as well admit that you hate apple pie, torture puppies and fart in the general direction of the Statue of Liberty.

Be careful what you say. I have Homeland Security on speed dial.

Kaylee today: Dadadadada.

Worth the wait

I can't just pull greatness out of thin air people. Well, I can – it just takes the better part of a week. I'll make up for it with more photos this weekend.

In the meantime, here's a video to keep you quiet happy.

Kaylee today: Free-standing.

I scream, you scream ...

Kaylee vs. ice cream sandwich.
We estimate about one-third actually made it in the mouth.

UPDATE: Camera ate my video. Stupid camera.

Kaylee's got talent!

Kaylee's latest talent. Impressions!

Kaylee today: Balancing.

Lunch time ...

One bite, two bites, three bite-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ...