The Dark and Frilly Side

I have now made my first visit to the dark ....or rather, the frilly side. As soon as I found out we were having a girl, I became very determined that I would do my best to avoid gender stereotyping my child and that she will know from day one that, as a girl, she can do anything and everything boys can do. She can play sports, she can play with bugs, she can do math, and she can become the President of the United States (Only if she's a Republican, though. If she's not, her father will have her locked away somewhere). Conversely, should it be her choice, she can wear pink ruffles, play with dolls, have tea parties, and be as prissy as her little heart desires. But the type of girl she becomes was going to be her choice, not anyone else's ...including her mother's.

I am ashamed and disappointed in myself for purchasing this dress for her (even though it was a mere $4 at a consignment sale) and I apologize to Kendall in advance should she become a tomboy, run across this picture her mother has now put on the internet, and have to suppress an urge to vomit.

BUT SERIOUSLY FOLKS, HOW FRIGGIN' CUTE IS SHE IN THIS DRESS????

Week Number 11

We had a fairly non-eventful first part of the week. Kendall was kind enough to share her cold with me so we both felt pretty icky. Big Thanks to Grandmother for keeping Kendall Monday morning so I could get some sleep. Also for bringing dinner Thursday night so I didn't have to cook, and then keeping Kendall again Friday afternoon so I could help movers move some stuff out of storage! Kendall and I were both feeling much better by Thursday and went to visit my friend Mary and Kendall's boyfriend Baby Owen Friday morning. Owen has gotten so much bigger just in the past couple of weeks! I guess it's not just my baby who's growing like a little weed. Owen is 4 weeks younger than Kendall and is already longer than she is and almost as heavy! We also introduced Owen to Kendall's favorite singing star toy and created another little star toy addict. Sorry Mary! Kendall has figured out how to kick the playgym and make the star play music when it's on the motion sensor setting. She can spend hours kicking and staring at that thing and cracking herself up!


Kendall: Owen, look at this thing - all the cool kids are doin' it! Ya GOTTA try it!

Owen: Whoa dude! This is cool! MOM - I NEED a STAR!!

Friday was a big day for Kendall. After spending the morning with Mary and Owen, Kendall spent the afternoon with Grandmother so I could get some stuff done. Then we spent the evening at Brett's house with Brett, Troy, Vincent and Heather. Kendall impressed everyone by being a "such a laid back baby" and then slept a full NINE hours that night! I woke her up at 7 Saturday morning so she could eat. Can't let her wither away into nothingness. Did I mention that when we weighed the kids at Mary's house she had gained an entire pound since the infamous snot sucking doctor visit a mere week ago?? She is now 14 pounds, 5 ounces according to my scale. This means she's almost doubled her birth weight. I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere she was supposed to do that by her 6 month birthday. Guess we can cross that little milestone off at 11 weeks!


Kendall hanging out with Uncle Brett. She did pretty well chillin' with the guys!

Finally, we are spending the weekend (and probably the better part of next week) helping "Nana the Nanny" move into her new house in Dallas - just 3 miles from us - and Saba had better be visiting frequently. Welcome to Dallas, Nana! Nana will be keeping Kendall during the day when I go back to work in just 2 short weeks. Part of me is looking forward to returning to work. I have developed the utmost of respect for housewives as there is NO way I could continue to do this full time and stay sane. It is significantly easier to be working in an office all day! The other part of me gets teary at the thought of leaving my little monkey. She is just now starting to be really fun to be around (smiling and laughing at everything, especially me!) and now I have to miss out of most of her waking hours. I'm sure it will all be fine, though. Other mothers have survived returning to work after maternity leave fairly unscathed, right?

Snot Sucking Fascination Officially OVER

Today I exhibited my first "rookie mom harassment of the pediatrician's office" behavior. I had called yesterday about the cold that Kendall has had all week and was told that nothing really could be done for her other than having her sleep as upright as possible and continue to use her nasal aspirator. Sucking snot has recently become a favorite pastime of mine and I was becoming rather addicted to my battery operated snot sucker that plays music as it sucks. And the fact that Kendall actually seemed to enjoy having her snot sucked made it all the more fun for me! That is until the doctor visit today. This morning her cough was worse and she started vomiting. Exorcist style. So I basically told the pediatrician's office that my snotty baby was going to appear in their waiting room in the next couple of hours coughing and hacking so it would behoove them to let her see a doctor while we were there. They obliged. Turns out that Kendall has a ... drum roll please .... cold. But it wasn't enough for this doctor (not our regular doctor) to formally diagnose her disease and send us on our way. Oh no. Apparently I am not the only one with a snot sucking fetish. But there was absolutely nothing cute and fun about the way he violently sucked a gallon of snot out of her poor little head. And Kendall did NOT enjoy this rough snot sucking session. At all. The scream was worse than her shot induced scream, a mere week and a half ago, and lasted significantly longer. Then, afterwards, I got reprimanded for holding her (with tears streaming down my face) and attempting to comfort her! I was supposed to just smile at her and say it was ok so she doesn't remember it as a bad experience. Uh huh. I was then sent on my way with a piece of paper with a number (100.5) written in red and circled. This is the minimum temperature at which my child's little body should be before she returns to the doctor with a cold.

Oh, and she's gained a pound in a week. She's now 13 pounds 5 ounces. But I think at least 1/2 of that pound was snot and it's gone now.

Lesson Learned. Next time Kendall has a cold, we will stay home.

Kendall and Cousins!

This post is out of order - sorry! Had to wait 'til Amy posted the pictures so I could thieve them. :) She has such a cool camera and took soooo many pictures the night they were here, there was really no reason for me to bother looking for my cheapo camera (that was hiding from me that night).

Anyhow, I think I mentioned in the 8 week post that Brian, Amy, Mason and Maya came over and brought us a delicious dinner a couple of weekends ago. We had a great time and Kendall was awake and social for most of the visit! We need to do it again soon! Thanks for the pics, Amy!

All smiles at dinner!

Kendall: "Whatchew lookin' at Aunt Amy?"


Kendall with Mason and Maya (who can maybe teach their cousin how to better pose for pictures!).

Kendall and Maya, who is a natural with babies (I think she's had lots of practice!) :)

Kendall and Uncle Brian (who was happily holding a beer when all of a sudden a baby was plunked in his lap for a photo opp!)

Shots are NOT FUN!

Kendall had her 2 month shots this week. 2 in one leg, 1 in the other. It was a scream I never want to hear again ....although it was short lived. She stopped crying as soon as I stuck a bottle in her mouth. I figure it's good to teach her early that food cures all pain. We'll get the eating disorder diagnosed early too.

Stats and Percentiles:
Weight: 12 pounds, 6 ounces - 90th percentile (!)
Height: 22.75 inches - 75th percentile
Head circumference: 65th percentile - I'm still not sure for the reason for this one but I guess it's nice to know she's not in any current danger of being a pinhead.

Saba and Nana came for a long weekend visit and we had a nice afternoon on Thursday at the mall and then the Arboretum. Here are some pics from that outing.

Kendall and Mommy with Saba and Nana

I sat her down on this little bench in front of the "Hansel and Gretel house" at the Arboretum. Then realized that this is the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel so this is a picture of me leaving my child to get eaten by a witch. Oops.

Happy to be rescued from the witch's house!

And here is Kendall relaxing on Daddy's lap along with her doggies, Ralphie and Ginger.



And here she is in a cute 0-3 month size outfit ... for the first and most likely last time since she can't stretch out her little bow legs in it!



My cousin Stacy and my Aunt Melanie came for a short visit at the end of Saba and Nana's visit to meet Kendall. We had a really nice time. We ate a lot, had another visit to the Arboretum, and Stacy and I both got much needed pedicures. Kendall was very generous with her smiles and was exceptionally fond of her Saba this visit.

Kendall and her "Auntie M." I love the look on Kendall's face in this one!

Kendall and "First Stacy." Stacy is technically Kendall's first cousin once removed but since no one says "first cousin" for actual first cousins, "First Stacy" works. I became "First Julie" to Stacy's darling little girl, Izzy, a little over 2 years ago. Izzy has a hilarious blog if you want to check it out. (http://theworldaccordingtoizzy.blogspot.com/) That child is an absolute trip!

The "Generations" picture. Kendall and Mommy, Nana, Auntie M, and First Stacy. We hope to have Kendall and Izzy meet soon for a more complete "generations" picture.

8 Great Weeks

Ok, ALL eight weeks of Kendall's life so far have not been equally great, some of them have been downright trying, but all have been great in some way, shape, or form. This one has been particularly great because Kendall has finally started sleeping for 7-8 hours at night. Yes, I just knocked on everything wooden within my visual perimeters. The first night she slept 8 hours was probably the night that I got the least amount of sleep in a while. I woke up promptly at 3, when she usually wakes up to eat, and then spent the next 2.5 hours either staring at her in the monitor or trekking to her room to put my finger under her nose to make sure she was still breathing. In fact, she may have slept later than 5:30 that morning had I not felt the need to poke her to make sure that she not only could still breathe, but that she still had the power of movement. She did. And her vocal chords still worked too. I couldn't help it, I had to poke at something other than her father, who was getting increasingly more annoyed with being repeatedly poked and asked if he thought I should go wake the baby. He did not.

A not so great part of the week was when Kendall went four whole days exhibiting voracious intake behaviors, but completely nonexistent output behaviors. In other words, my little girl was so full of .... well, let's just say her eyes turned a little more brown. The floodgates opened up on Thursday and I really wish I'd video taped the smiles that occurred both during and after that 5 diaper event! We have that on our list to ask the doctor about next week at her 2 month check up. I restrained from leaving any messages for the doctor this time around. She can be taught.

Outings this week: 3 visits to the Arboretum, 2 visits to the mall, 1 visit to Target (my new nemesis), 1 visit to the bank, and 1 visit to the grocery store. This was the first visit to the grocery store with Kendall in tow and hopefully the last for a while. She screamed whenever the cart stopped or turned around. Loudly. So I basically had to race up and down the aisles grabbing things quickly while still moving, and returning down the same aisle twice, sometimes three times, if I didn't grab something before we passed it, so as to avoid the stopping or turning around of the cart. This will either turn into a Daddy chore, or something that can only be done on weekends. She was fine in the cart in Target. I think she knew I was adding to her wardrobe.

I also had the wonderful opportunity to have an afternoon to myself and get my hair some desperately needed professional attention! Thank you to Erica Duncan (a friend of mine from Legacy Boxer Rescue) for staying with Kendall and then hanging out with me that night over some wine!

Next week Saba and Nana will be here and next weekend my cousin Stacy and my Aunt Melanie will be here. Lots of folks to cuddle Kendall to help her get over her first round of shots scheduled for Tuesday! Can't wait to hear what the doctor has to say about the fact that she is now weighing in at TWELVE pounds and is fitting quite nicely into a lot of her outfits marked "6 mos!"

My little chunk in an outfit that was supposed to fit her approximately 4 months from now!

Getting ready to go power walking at the Arboretum. Yes, I realize she kind of looks like a rapper. Her rap name is "Heavy K."

Kendall and Owen clearly not as enthusiastic about and having their pictures taken in front of the lovers statue at the Arboretum as their mothers were!



I was proud of myself for only wheeling the stroller on the grass (boldly right next to the sign that asks that this not be done) and not taking my child out of the stroller and placing her IN the flowers for a photo session.

Kendall's First Trip to NC

On Sunday, Feb. 15th, Kendall took her very first airplane ride and she proved to be a much better passenger than her mommy (although her mommy did ok this time too!). We flew first class from Dallas/Fort Worth to Raleigh/Durham (only the best for that little girl!) and Kendall slept through both the flight there and the flight home, receiving accolades from fellow passengers after the flights were over on what a good baby she was. I'm sure those same passengers were cursing my very existence on their flight just 2 short hours prior to said accolades. As for me, it was quite a different experience being the one carrying a baby and being glared at rather than the one doing the glaring. There is no reason to glare at me, however. MY baby is perfect!

Kendall was a champ in NC and tolerated her busy social schedule nicely. Saba and Nana's house grew a revolving door to accommodate the rash of visitors coming to see my little celebrity. She also received lots more presents, requiring an additional suitcase on the way home.

Things that are new this week:
1. LOTS more smiles!
2. A newfound affinity for disco music and dancing on tables (thank you David Page!)
3. First trip to a bar with mommy (Nana's restaurant in Durham - don't worry, it's a very classy bar!)
4. First airplane ride (described above)
5. 3 month size clothing at 7 weeks of age. I expect my little weed will be in 6 month clothing around 3 months of age!
6. Kendall finally got to meet her cousins Mason and Maya on Saturday. Amy, Brian, Mason and Maya came over and brought a delicious dinner for us. We had a great time and really need to hang out with them more! Pictures will be coming soon.


Kendall had LOTS of fun in the play gym at Saba and Nana's!

Kendall meets Kelly and Chris Copolo (her "Super" cousins!)

Kendall and Uncle Dan, who is clearly NOT a baby person!

Kendall and Aunt Corinna

And of course, we can't leave out the picture of our first glimpse of a future attitude pointed in Mommy's direction. "Do I HAVE to wear this outfit, Mom??" And we hadn't even found the matching hat yet!