WEEK 35 - January 20 - 26, 2011 - 34 weeks old

Gramma's Here!  Gramma's Here!  This week, my Gramma Ward and Grampa Lynn came to visit and I got to spend LOTS of time playing with them at my house.  I showed off my rolling and scooching skills and demonstrated how to get up on all fours and rock back and forth.  I also showed Gramma how to play "How Big is Kaetlyn" and how to operate my standy table.  We had LOTS and LOTS of fun!  I stayed home from school a couple of days to play with Grandma and she got to learn all about changing my clothes, cleaning up "urps" and how much I like to eat!

Mommy and Daddy had a big "adult night" out for Mommy's company holiday party, so Gramma and Grampa were here to watch me that night.  Gramma gave me my bath and put me to bed and I was actually pretty good!  Mommy was a little worried because no one had ever watched me and put me to bed before, but Gramma had been here a couple of days and had seen the routine, so she gave it a whirl and it worked!  I slept really good for her and Grampa.

Mommy and Daddy all dressed up for their night on the town!

About the only thing that dampened my visit with my Gramma is that I got sick again.  That seems to be the theme for the year so far, doesn't it?  And, of course, Mommy and Daddy got sick too :(  We went to see Dr. P and she said I had a sinus infection, an ear infection (my first ever!) and pinkeye.  Well, that meant that I couldn't go to school, so I spent even more time with Gramma!  Even though I've been sick, I have to say, I remain in good spirits.  Mommy is amazed at how happy I seem to be even when I can't breathe and have eye goobers the size of Texas.  Sure, I whine a little...what kid wouldn't?  But overall, as long as someone is paying attention to me and I can play, I'm a happy girl!

While Gramma was here, we went out to eat and I showed off my newfound highchair skills.  I tried to steal some of her breakfast and play with her fork and knife, but other than that, I was really, really good :)

I was sad that my Gramma had to go.  She's a LOT of fun.  She made sure to read to me a lot and even recorded a book for me so that I can hear her voice reading to me every once in a while.  That is something I think is pretty cool! 

I am starting to feel better, so hopefully that trend will continue.  I understand this next week, I will go see another doctor about my "urping" problem.  Apparantly I'll get to play with some fancy equipment that will look inside me!  I'll be sure to tell you all about it.  Until then...have a great week!

WEEK 34 - January 13-19, 2011 - 33 Weeks Old

I had a good week, despite not a lot of progress with my belly.  After a couple days on rice formula, where I was having some chunky reflux, Mommy and Daddy took me to see Dr. P.  She told them to go BACK to soy, put me on Zantac (YUCK!) and referred us to a GI specialist for a swallow study and GI review.  We're going to Children's later this month for that.  In the meantime, I'll keep taking the Zantac and trying to keep down what I can!  Thanks much to Sweet Pea's Mom and Maddie's Mom for their helpful words of encouragement.  It meant a lot to my Mommy!

Some really fun things that happened this week...

SHOPPING!  Mommy and I met Aunt Holly and Kayla at the mall and we had a really fun lunch at this place with monkeys hanging from the ceiling and LOTS of fish tanks (Rainforest Cafe).  I was fascinated by the flashing lights, but didn't really "get" the monkeys.  I DID get to sit in my VERY OWN high chair there, so that makes me a big girl.  I was really proud!  Afterward, we all went shopping and Kayla and I got some neat new clothes (lots of sales!) and I got my very first pair of NEW SHOES at Stride Rite!  Mommy thinks Ms. Colleen will be very happy with these shoes...I love them...they help me stand even better!

Kayla and I holding hands at Rainforest Cafe...  (look at me in the HIGH CHAIR!)

Aunt Holly, me and Kayla...aren't we cute?!  Everyone thought we were twins all day long!

TALKING!   Oh boy do I like to talk! This is the best video Mommy could get so far...I get quiet when the camera is around, but I'm now a Chatty Kaety...ALLLL the time!  (Sorry about the urp at the end...sometimes it just happens!)


PULLING UP!  No, I'm not doing it just yet, but I'm giving it that old "college try".  Mommy likes to tease me by putting a pacifier (most beloved chewing toy right now!) on her hip while laying on the floor with me, then I try to reach up and grab it and pull myself up on here.  I've not made it yet, but I am most certainly trying!

UP ON ALL FOURS!  No, not crawling either, but I've recently started to get up on all fours and rock back and forth.  Sometimes I get going so fast that I face-plant into the floor (or the water in the tub, where I first did it...what a surprise THAT was...good thing I like the water!).  Mommy's going to try to get video because she says it's really cute.  Now, if I could JUST get moving forward!

This week, Gramma Ward and Lynn are coming.  I'm excited to see her and get to play some!  Until later...have a great week! :)

Getting ready for a bath (which means NAKEY BABY TIME!)...as you can see, I enjoy this immensely!

WEEK 33 - January 6-12, 2011 - 32 weeks old

We've had an epiphany! You may have noticed in previous posts that I tend to "urp" a lot (as Ms. Audrey calls it); it's a bit of reflux that tends to happen after every bottle.  Mommy and Daddy determined that maybe something new was warranted, so this week I started on soy formula.  Daddy was allergic to milk when he was little, so it might make sense that I have the same sensitivity.  We thought at first that the "urping" was less...not completely gone, but after a few days, things at daycare got really bad and I went through FIVE outfits in one day!  So, Mommy and Daddy read that they should try rice formula.  Mommy's not sure how this will work, as pretty much anything rice causes me to have severe constipation and the soy was already doing that.  We'll have to report next week on how the belly issues are going...we're hoping we're headed in the right direction, but if we're not, Mommy says I'll have to go see Dr. Patulot.  The thing that's a little weird is I don't seem to have the problem when I eat solids, just when I have a bottle.  (However, if I have a bottle after eating solids, all bets are off!)  Because of the constipation, I've been getting juice too.  Sometimes it's so awful to go #2 that I breathe in and push and sound like a pterodactyl taking flight!  And then I cry...really really hard...it can hurt, you know.  So, we're going to have to work that problem if one of these formulas actually works out.

 This week I've started talking a LOT too.  I love to say, "alalalala" and "dadadadadadadadadadada" and combinations of the two.  I've taken to talking as I roll and scooch all over the floor and especially when I can't quite get a toy I want.  BOY, do I announce my frustration then! Mommy tried to capture my talking on video, but I get shy when the video camera is out!

I'm really really trying to crawl, but can't get the hang of going forward.  It's much harder than it looks, but I'm sure at some point I'll get it.  Ms. Colleen says I will, so it must be true!

Something really good that happened this week (at least Mommy thinks so) is that Daddy built me a fancy toy cabinet (thank you Ikea!) for the family room.  My "stuff" was starting to take over after Christmas, and Mommy was getting a little frustrated by having no place to put it.  So, Daddy built me my very own fancy toy cabinet!  Here are pictures of it...closed and open.  See how neat it is



I got to spend some time with Ms. Colleen this week.  She showed Mommy how to work on "transitions" from sitting to laying down and vice versa.  I impressed her with my ability to reach across my body and grab objects (in particular, an icee, which I LOOOOVE to chew!) and showed her how I like to stand up while holding Mommy's hands.  Ms. Colleen suggested that I should get some shoes to try to stabilize my standing up as much as possible, so Mommy's got a mission next week!  After therapy, Ms. Audrey spent lots of time with me this week working on transitions.  I'm getting good at going from sitting to the ground, and sometimes it's actually planned! :)  Also, after therapy this week, I did something REALLY amazing...I leaned up against the couch and STOOD BY MYSELF!  My Daddy didn't even have his hands on me and I was SO excited I started to wiggle and tumble forward, but caught myself and was able to stand up there for several minutes.  LOOK AT WHAT A BIG GIRL I AM!!!

Look Ma!  No Hands! :)

In addition to talking, I've been laughing A LOT.  Mommy is just SO FUNNY and she makes me giggle like nobody's business!  Here's a video of me giggling and laughing at my Mommy. 



I've been such a smiley girl.  I love to play the "How big is Kaetlyn?" game too!  Mommy and Daddy play it all the time and I just SMILE and LAUGH.  It's really one of the coolest games EVER!  Here I am playing it with Daddy...

Until next week when, hopefully, I'll report much better things with my belly...Ta Ta For Now!  Have a great week :)

WEEK 32 - December 30, 2010 - January 5, 2011 - 31 Weeks Old

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Mommy and I are very late in getting our journal entry in for the past week.  Unfortunately, the year started out with our whole family being sick with an awful flu.  Mommy only took pictures ONE day this week (which, you may have noticed is highly unusual for her - she's normally camera crazy!).  I had my first-ever really high fever...for almost 3 days!  It spiked at 104.8 and I got LOTS of baths to try to cool me off, and got lots of "Little Fevers" baby fever reducer.  My Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy were all sick...in fact, Sissy had to miss her first few days of classes at school because she had a really high fever too!  Needless to say, we're all coming out the other side of it, so hopefully that will be it for a while and 2011 will shape up much nicer!

Pretty much the only "new things" for me this week (other than the fever) were spending some time eating new foods, such as teething biscuits and apples through a teething net.  I am a big fan of the biscuits, not so much for the apples.  They frustrate me (A LOT) because I can't get those yummy apple bits into my mouth!  I also tried some other new foods this week such as chicken with sweet potatoes and apples and blueberries.  I have been really picky with eating, though because I've been sick, so Mommy's going to have to see where we are next week and what I actually like!  Tally of likes to date:  Chicken - NO; Blueberries - YES!

The very frustrating apples in a net game...Mommy can be so mean!

Being as it is now 2011, we thought we should reflect on 2010.  Last Christmas (2009), Mommy and Daddy found out I was going to be blessed with this extra chromosome.  To hear them tell it, they were a little upset.  So, 2010 was a year of "what will be?" and I'm here to tell you, I've given them more than a little to be surprised about.  What did 2010 mean to me?

• I was born.  That's pretty cool.
• I learned how to suck down a bottle with fervor and gain lots of weight in the process...I've gone from 6 lb 4 oz to 18 lb 2 oz in just 7 months and a week!  It's helped me to grow, too...from 19" to 26.5"...that's over an inch a month...no wonder I get cranky!
• Rolling over.  It's cool.  You should do it.  Everyone should.  I've mastered it!
• Sitting up.  Even cooler.  Big fan.  Especially if you can reach around and grab lots of toys to put them your mouth.  Makes it even more fun.
• Speaking of toys, passing them hand to hand, sweeping them around the room, and playing in a jumpy seat while chewing on one are some of my favorite things.
• I think scooching backward across the room is a divine method of transportation.  I'm going places, baby!  (If you can't scooch...roll...very effective!  Like Daddy says, "That's how I roll!")
• Standing up while leaning against a table (with lots of lights and sound is a HUGE bonus!) or holding onto Daddy or Mommy's hands - this rocks.  I can't wait until I can do this on my own.  I'm a little impatient with this, but WOW, do I love to stand up!

Mostly, I've taught my Mommy and Daddy to expect the unexpected, to embrace the unknown, and to realize that my potential is UNENDING.  2010 has been good to us, and though 2011 has had a bit of a rough start, I'm sure it's only UP from here!  We all hope you have a GREAT year!