Eat Mud!

This isn't a great picture, but it's the best I could do under the circumstances. If you've read this blog before you may remember that Kaelyn doesn't really put things in her mouth. She doesn't eat table food no matter how hard I try. Today...she ate dirt. We have a huge heavy cement planter on the porch. It's empty but has some remnants of dirt in it from last year. Kaelyn was digging around in it today, no big deal. However, she found a dirt clod, a little muddy ball, and decided she wanted to taste it. DIRT! Now, for most kids this probably isn't unusual, kids put EVERYTHING in their mouths. Kaelyn does not. Hardly ANYTHING goes in there except her fingers! It's been a bit of a struggle. All this good food I try to get her to test and she eats dirt?! What does that say about my cooking?! Anyways, she didn't enjoy it. She started gagging and choking on it. I tried to get it out but by that point the dirt ball was no longer a ball, it was just a bundle of mud. So there was nothing I could do but let her eat it and help her wash it down. We went inside and I gave her a drink and wiped what came back out off her face (after taking this brief picture!) I can't believe this kid! I gave her strawberries for supper and she wouldn't do anything but poke them, but she ate DIRT!! I give her bread, carrots, beans, meats, you name it. She ate DIRT! Maybe she's trying to tell me she wants a change in her diet. No more good things, no more colorful items, just dirt will do. Though, like I said, she didn't enjoy it! But she ate it!! More than I can say about any other food. Not that dirt is food! :)

Fingers...watch out for birds!

As you may remember from earlier posts, Kaelyn loves to put her finger in things. Straws, drains, toys, my nose, whatever is available. We went to the zoo this week (can you believe it?! Twice actually!) and we arrived first thing in the morning at 8:30 so there weren't many people there. We went into the butterfly building and went into the side with the bugs and waterfalls and birds etc. Kaelyn's favorite part of that area is this waterfall enclosed by a net with birds in it. She seems to really enjoy ALL the waterfalls at the zoo. And these particular birds are friendly. They sit on branches near the side and move around a lot so she really watches them.

We were the ONLY ones in the butterfly building that morning so we were having a good time running around. She was really watching the birds and waterfall and I saw someone come in. It was one of the zookeepers and I glanced up for ONE second. This just goes to show you what can happen in ONE second! When I was watching Kaelyn she was standing by the net, hands are her side, watching the birds all wide eyed. The birds were standing on the other side watching her back! I look up for a second and when I look back down she has her finger THROUGH the netting and a bird has its ENTIRE beak around her finger! I'm not sure if she put her finger in bird's mouth (which I wouldn't put past her since she SO enjoys putting her finger in things) or if the bird put its beak around her finger! Either way, she was pretty cool about it. I was like AH! And she looked at me like "way cool, mama, look what I'm doing!!!" She seemed to really enjoy it. Thankfully the bird must have been gentle and wasn't really biting and didn't have a sharp beak. It was just holding her finger. But sheesh, one SPLIT second of glancing up and that's what happened! You just never know, huh!

Cute sleeping

Don't you wish we could all be this cute all the time? Sometimes when Kaelyn is going to sleep I hear her squeeze the rubber duck. It squeaks and she giggles. She's not exactly sleeping, but it's sure cute! But eventually this is how she ends up. I'm still not sure what it is about the rubber duck that she likes so much. It's not soft or cuddly. But it works for her! We had four of them but they get lost here and there and we're down to just one. The one she stole from the children's museum, actually. There HAS to be another one in the house somewhere because I know she lost one around here. We just haven't run across it yet. Two were lost at the zoo so those two are goners for sure.

We're surviving our week alone so far. And we have been completely alone so far. Not only is my mom away on vacation but we haven't been able to get together with any friends. We have plans to meet a friend on Friday, but the rest of the week it has been JUST us. We made two trips to the zoo and had one errand day/trip to the library. Today
we have to go to a place and pick up a thing. Can't say where or what in case Sean reads this. It's for father's day. :) We have to go between 11-1245 or something like that. And that's our ONLY plan for the day. Maybe we'll have lunch somewhere just to be out for a little longer. Otherwise, we'll play the day away unless I think of anything else to do!

I do think Kaelyn is getting tired of me, though. It's good for her to be with other people here and there. Last night after we got home from the church potluck she and Sean played for 15 minutes or so. You should have heard her squealing! It was the most noise she made all day! As much as she enjoys my company (or so I tell myself!) sometimes she wants to hang out with someone else for awhile!

Last night was night three of no nursing. I haven't exploded so that's good. It hasn't even been THAT painful compared to the other feedings I dropped in the past. Kaelyn cried around for 20 minutes or so last night before cashing it in. That's hard to listen to because I know if I just nursed her she'd go right to sleep peacefully. But I can't do it forever! Well, I could, but that's just weird.

Speaking of sleeping, I think she's awake now. And the day begins!

Nursing Update

Kaelyn MAY officially be weaned now! I decided that around my birthday I would try to stop the nursing session before bedtime. That was the only one we had left. First I thought that I would just give her ONE side a night for a few nights so she would be getting less and then I would cut her off for real. I was going to try it over the weekend. But Saturday night we'd had that big party for my birthday (still surprised!) and we still had guests here so I didn't want to mess with anything. Plus Kaelyn was ramped up from the big day and/or extra tired from it! So I proceeded as normal. Sunday night I attempted to just give her one side and she threw a FIT. Since I hadn't thought it through too well I gave in and just nursed her as usual. Monday night, though, I was determined to REALLY try. I told her throughout the day what we were going to do. I gave her a cup of milk in the evening to hopefully fill her up. At bedtime we went upstairs and looked at a book. She didn't want to have anything to do with it so we were only a few pages in when I gave that up. I just laid her back and rocked her and sang. She didn't like it at first bit calmed down after a little while. After I felt like she was tired and relaxed I put her in bed, told her mama loved her, and left the room. At first she was calm. She cried a tiny bit then stopped. After I got back downstairs it was probably a good 5-10 minutes later when she cried pretty hard for a minute. And here I thought she was doing okay with it! But she stopped shortly and I didn't hear much from her again.

We had a big thunderstorm overnight but I didn't hear Kaelyn until 2am. And then it was just a roll over squawk, nothing serious. She's been rolling around in her bed now since about 5am but it's 6:20 and she's not fully awake yet. Assuming all goes well, I think she's weaned! None of the individual feedings I cut were as hard as I thought. I always dreaded doing it because she just hates change and resists is so much. But each time I resolved to REALLY try, she's gone along with it after a little resistance. It's a hard thing to give up. Because nursing is SO sweet and such a peaceful time. It's probably the only quiet time of day I had to look at her and enjoy her without her moving full speed! And who knows, if she's our only child, I may never nurse again! So part of me is sad! But I also know that she's growing up and she doesn't really need that anymore. It's nice to know that I can go away for a night and she'll be okay. Not sure when I'll feel comfortable doing that, but at least I know it's an option!

So, she takes a bath in the big girl tub...I think she's done nursing...now if we can just get her to eat table foods!! That's next!

On another note, the last two mornings I've been watching the movie Precious while I run on the elliptical machine. The movie has a LOT of bad language so I wanted to watch it alone when Kaelyn wasn't around. It was interesting and VERY sad. It made me SO thankful to have the family I have. Even on my worst day as a mother, Kaelyn has it SO good. And I have it SO good to have her. If nothing else, the movie made me greatly appreciate everything I have. It's good to stop and be thankful for the little things sometimes. I don't want to take for granted this wonderful life I've been given.

Big Surprise

When Sean turned 30 I threw him a surprise party. Granted, I threw that party several months EARLY so he was REALLY surprised! His birthday is January 4th so with snow and holidays it's hard to get a party in. November was much better and even more surprising for him! :) Anyways, I guess he felt like he needed to get even!

At one point we'd talked about going camping over the weekend but it was suppose to rain so we didn't. I didn't think we really had any plans at all. Kaelyn and I went to neighborhood garage sales on my actual birthday, Friday. Sean said he had some ideas for what to do Saturday but wouldn't tell me. By his hints I was guessing a zoo visit. But come Saturday, it was raining pretty hard so he said we'd just get ready for the day and go shopping. Uh, okay! He didn't say where so we got ready and got in the car and ended up at Hy-vee. I was perplexed. I'm not much of a shopper as it is but what do you shop for at Hy-vee?! Sean headed for the bakery department so I thought, okay, maybe he's going to let me pick out a cake or bakery treat of some kind since we didn't really have one on my actual birthday. But he went up to the counter and asked for his cake (see above picture!) I saw what they handed him and was like, Sean, that's a HUGE cake! I thought there'd been a mistake! We couldn't eat that big of a cake just the two of us! Even though I DO love cake! Then I saw what it looked like and I said, "And it's ugly!" Apparently that's why he made it the way he made it! You see, I'm not a pink person...at ALL. Kaelyn wears pink often because if the outfit fits, it's clean, and on top of the pile, she'll wear it! But I just REALLY don't like pink. Hence the pink cake. Even a princess crown, how nice! :) No, I didn't wear the crown! :) Back to the story, so Sean picks up this big cake and I was sure there was a mistake but he said we were having a big party today. I was like what?! He said maybe 20-30 people were coming over to our house for my birthday, surprise! :) He figured it would be easier to reveal the surprise at that point because he needed to buy supplies and get things ready at home and I'm not the easiest person to get rid of, I guess! :)

So around 10:30am Sean's parents and grandma showed up and helped him with horrendous pink streamers and balloon decorations. Ugh. I would have preferred black. Sean's brother Joe and his wife Dacia and their little girl Nevaeh came just afternoon and Sean's brother Jason followed shortly after. Later in the day Sean's aunt Denise and uncle Tom as well as his uncle Brian and aunt Tryce and two cousins and Audry arrived as well. My parents didn't make it because they were on their way to an Alaskan cruise. And my sister and her family had my niece's soccer game and my nephew's tball pictures.

I wasn't surprised by Sean's family that came, that was to be expected once I found out there was a party. But when the party first REALLY began (at 2, the time he told most people to arrive) my friend September, her husband and daughter appeared! Someone (SEAN!) has been searching through my cell phone contacts! Not long after my friend Andrea and her husband and son arrived! Someone (SEAN!) has been searching through my email contacts! Our friends Katie and Kyle and their daughter Megan from church came later in the afternoon. And as if that wasn't enough, I almost had a heart attack from show, my friend from college, Stana and her mom came! See, they live in Tennessee!! So you can see why I would be surprised by that! Last I heard they were going to be coming back through the area MID-June on the way back to their home in South Dakota. So they're a little early!!

Kaelyn was really good at the party. When I first heard we were HAVING a party I wondered how she'd react. She has a tendency to be skittish around lots of commotion. She still stuck pretty close by but she did really well. She even played with several of the kids! Or at least near them!

It was a fun day. I kept getting drinks because I was talking so much my throat got dry. Especially after Stana got here! I convinced she and her mom to stay overnight so even after everyone else was gone we chatted until 10:30pm which is unheard of for me! :) That's way late in my world right now! And then Kaelyn decided 5:30am was wake up time this morning, ugh!

So to Sean, thanks for the fun party! Thanks for thinking of so many people that are important to me, family, friends, and everyone in between! :) And as for the cake, I WILL get even. Enough said.

Birthday

Well, today's the big day! I'm not longer in my 20s! Kaelyn and I partied hard yesterday to make the most of the remainder of my 20s. I think I re-broke a toe, we went to the zoo, and had lunch with some work friends. Plus there was the wagon ride, the bubble blowing, the napping. Whew, we did it all!

So far 30 feels pretty much the same as 29! Though I did let myself sleep in this morning! I woke up at 5 like I normally do but just rolled over and went back to sleep! Good for me! Maybe I need more sleep in my old age!

I remember birthdays being pretty magical when I was little. I would have big parties with lots of friends. Since my birthday was usually JUST when school got out and the weather was nice we'd have outside parties. Usually we'd draw with chalk in the driveway as people gathered. Play games with water balloons, pin the tail on mickey, have ice cream bars for the treat, things like that. Scavenger hunts in the neighborhood got big as I got older too.

When I turned 16 my parents REALLY got me good. They threw a surprise party at a big indoor park (probably more meant for kids but whatever!) I don't remember where my mom said she was going but my dad and I were home alone. He wanted me to take him for a drive to make sure I was a safe enough driver to start driving alone that summer. He made me get on the interstate and we drove by a place they played volleyball. When we got close to that place my dad said he had to go to the bathroom NOW and to pull over. So we went inside and he walked RIGHT past the bathroom, I was like, hey, there's the bathroom!! Then I turned the corner and ALL of my friends were standing there. Believe it or not, my first thought was, all my friends are here, why didn't they invite me?! Then they yelled surprise and I finally started putting it all together! :) We played on all the equipment for a few hours and then went back to our house and played pool and all that good stuff. That was one of my more memorable birthdays. I can't believe it was almost half my life ago!!!

Today Kaelyn and I plan to hit some neighborhood garage sales. That's about all we have in mind for the day! Nothing special going on. If she has a good day, I will! So let's hope she wakes up well and continues that pattern all day long!

On our own!

Today is the last day my mom will be with us for three weeks! My parents are taking a cruise in Alaska so Kaelyn and I will be on our own. We have plans for a few days here and there, but mostly we're free. I hope to find more things to do so she doesn't get bored and realize it's JUST me and her for SO many days in a row! :)

My parents are HUGE Iowa Hawkeye fans. My dad got this outfit for Kaelyn for Christmas or her birthday or something! So she had to wear it over the weekend when we were with them. It's actually pretty cute! Being another sports fan team, my husband didn't care for it, but he still took cute pictures anyways!

Below is another of Kaelyn's birthday outfits. It's WAY cute but I had NO idea how hard those overalls are to put on a wiggly kid! VERY hard!

Not to get gross, but over the last few weeks Kaelyn has pooped in her bath a few times. It's SO hard to clean up! It greatly shortens bathtime, that's for sure! Kaelyn gets jerked out of the tub immediately and wrapped in her towel on the floor. Then she has to lay there while I drain the tub and try to clean up! Apparently I was infamous for doing just such things when I was little. Hence my nickname of tubby tootles. Only with me, it was worse, because my sister was in the bath with me! Poor thing. hehe I like to think I did it on purpose! :)

Speaking of bath, over memorial day weekend I succeeded in getting Kaelyn to bathe without her blow up duck tub. I took it to my parents house but decided not to use it for a few days and see how it went. In past trials, plenty of screaming ensued. The first day Kaelyn screamed the whole time but wasn't AS mad as she had been LAST time I tried. So I tried again the next day. She screamed MOST of the time but was also happy for periods of time too. The third day she yelped when she got into the water but calmed down fast and played. The fourth day she was happy the whole time. So yeah! No more duck tub! I deflated it to bring home. It'll be nice to not have to take it with us everywhere and now she has the WHOLE big tub for room! She won't outgrow that for awhile! :)

I still want to work on two things with her: dropping the nighttime nursing session, and get her to eat table food. I've tried lots of table foods and so far have had NO luck with anything. I thought about cutting her off of baby food and hoping she'd get hungry enough to at least TRY some things. But then I decided, she's only a little over 13 months old, maybe she just needs more time. So we'll continue experimenting with things and hope for the best. If she hasn't caught on by her 15 month doctor's check up, I'll ask them about it and perhaps try cutting her off.

So that leaves nursing to work on for now. I think I'll go through this week and maybe most, if not all, of the weekend, and perhaps try to stop nursing Kaelyn at night next week. This is our LAST nursing session so once it's gone, we'll officially be done nursing. As much as I like that idea it's also sad. It's something I may NEVER do again, who knows. And it's such a sweet time to cuddle and bond. Some days, when Kaelyn is on the go all the time, it's the only time she slows down to cuddle with me! I hope it's an easy transition. So far weaning the rest hasn't been TOO hard. And I don't think she really NEEDS to nurse that much anymore. I think it's more of a relaxation thing. But still, it's been her habit for over a year, so it'll be hard to drop. Wish us luck!

And wish Kaelyn luck putting up with ONLY me for the next three weeks! May she be able to get by! :)