Developmental Update

Here is a little update on how Kendall is doing developmentally (based upon my uneducated and slightly biased observations!) She continues to grow like a weed and is quite tall. We're buying 18 and 24 month size clothing now. Some of her baby fat has been stretched out, but her "state fair turkey leg" thighs continue to look good and tasty! I hadn't realized how tall she is compared to other kids her age until she started standing next to them. She is pulling up and cruising around furniture and walls on a regular basis. She'll walk holding onto someone's hands, unless that someone is me. I continue to be viewed as a transportation service. We have two push toys for her that she will walk behind and use to get from one side of the room to the other. She has finally figured out crawling on her hands and knees and is very fast! And since her belly isn't constantly sweeping up the dirt on the floors for me, I have to sweep a bit more often. Climbing stairs is a new favorite activity and we're working on learning to get down the stairs any way other than headfirst. She had a minor tumble down the two stairs leading to our bedroom, but she recovered quickly and was right back at her climbing expedition in no time. Most of the house is now baby-proofed but we do need to get the gate at the bottom of the stairs installed to prevent unintended and unsupervised climbing. I'm thinking the doggie door is going to have to remain closed from now on as well since I've caught her both holding the flap open to gaze into the backyard AND attempting to make her great escape into the backyard. The dogs continue to be very patient as they are used for all sorts of purposes ... and dogs are not intended by nature to be used for most of these purposes!

Food-wise she is eating just about everything these days and is not terribly picky. Usually if it has cheese on it, it gets eaten. And she does NOT eat like a little lady. This kid shovels food into her face by the fist-ful, frequently double-fisting the foods she really enjoys. I even got brave enough to give her peanut butter and honey (not together just yet) and she did fine with both - and probably thought there was something terribly wrong with her mother who sat there staring at her barely blinking while waiting for a bad reaction that didn't happen. Unless it is something sweet (apple sauce, yogurt, oatmeal, etc) she insists that she feed herself so I'm having to become creative with finger foods. Even if she does not, I get very bored with her menu. She'd REALLY like to use a fork and/or spoon ... and her dogs would REALLY like for her to try ... but we're (meaning I'M) not there yet. The bottle is history. And the sippy cup seems to have taken a back seat to the straw cup. She drinks a decent amount of milk and I think she's getting the proper nutrition in her diet. As a down-side of the absence of the bottle, the importance of the binky seems to be enhanced. For now that doesn't bother me.

Elmo is still the love of her life but other than that small portion of Sesame Street and Classical Baby, she doesn't watch much television. She continues to be busybusybusybusybusy. Thus, I continue to chasechasechasechasechase. I'm not entirely sure if my recent weight loss has been the result of a serious decrease in carbohydrates or a serious increase in Kendall-chasing cardio activities.

Kendall is doing a lot of experimenting with language these days! Here are some of the more common (and comprehensible) words she uses: Mama, Dada (both said sometimes in context but also sometimes directed at the dogs), Woof, Ished (finished), Deesh (this), Bye (said with a wave and southern drawl), Hi (also said with a wave and drawl), Gingis (I think this is "Ginger"), and Puff (sometimes "poof" and usually said in a whisper for some unknown reason. A puff is a Gerber baby junk food snack.) We've heard her say "Ohhhh, Cheeeeezus" several times and I think it may be time for us to start experimenting with language we'd actually like to hear coming from our daughter. She also signs the following words: water, milk, finished, and more.

On a more personal developmental note, I will be returning to work at, what I hope, will be the PERFECT firm for me right now. I'll be working 20 hours a week and in the office 2 days a week. Kendall's grandmothers have graciously offered to care for her while I enjoy my two days a week of being able to use the bathroom without being watched or climbed upon ... I mean, while I work. Kendall is a very lucky girl to have both grandmothers so close and so willing to chase her around ... I mean, care for her! :)

Kendall's little personality is really starting to blossom and she'll do just about anything to make other people laugh - she's quite the little comedienne! She's also quite the little drama queen. Temper tantrums have become fairly frequent, fairly unpredictable, and very loud! And I have discovered that if I laugh at her tantrums, it thoroughly ticks her off and makes them exponentially worse so I try to turn away if a particular tantrum is funny for some reason. She is more and more challenging to be around but definitely also more and more fun to be around every day!