Busy, Busy, BUSY!

I was so worried about how far behind Kendall seemed to be with her gross motor skills, compared to those of others in her playgroups. Come to find out, all of that time I was the lucky one because my child, for the most part, remained in the same location in which she was deposited. Not any more. In the same week that Kendall started pulling up in her crib, she started pulling up everywhere, wanting to walk everywhere (holding my hands) and she finally figured out how to sit herself up from a lying down position. Oddly, she could stand herself up before she could sit herself up! She also started crawling on her knees as opposed to the commando crawl, although the commando method does seem to be the desired and faster method of getting her to her desired locations (stairs, electrical outlets, dog toys, trash, dog food, etc) while on uncarpeted surfaces. She's also still 100% fixated on remote controls and seems to prefer the Direct TV remote to the others. Probably because it's the remote that can cause the most damage by random button pushing. I've had to drag out the TV instructions on more than one occasion to "readjust" the television after Kendall has been in charge of the remote. The random placement of objects in the most bizarre of places is also a new and exciting game for Kendall, and a regular source of amusement and frustration for me. Elmo continues to be a worshipped around here. I am still laughing at the time she was beating the ever-loving crap out of her Elmo Live doll with a drumstick and the thing said to her "awww, Elmo loves you too!" Who knew Elmo was a masochist?

While she is busy soaking everything in, I am trying to soak every bit of HER in. This is such an exciting phase for her and only once in her lifetime will the entire world be so new and exciting! Soon enough, she'll be an ornery teenager who is bored with everything and wonders why in the world she EVER thought her mother was anything other than a regular nuisance in her life. (sniff!)

Here are some recent pics:

Kendall and Daddy doing what they do best together - zoning out in front of the TV!

Mommy and Kendall ... self-taken photo.

Ride 'em cowgirl!

And here's the famous Kendall camera face. Thankfully she doesn't do this for every picture anymore!

The result of the following set of pictures was the baby-proofing of all lower kitchen cabinets, except the one she is seen getting into below. That is "Kendall's cabinet" and is full of non-breakable, non-noisy items. I'm pretty sure she'll be interested in that cabinet for all of 2 seconds before she realizes it was meant for her and therefore not exciting in the least. The drawers will be locked up next. Poor kid - all of her fun is being rapidly spoiled!

Oooh, jackpot! The dog toy bucket!

Apparently measuring cups resemble grooming devices. Kendall is seen here brushing her hair with 1/3 cup of air.

One Year Portraits

I took Kendall to the Sears in Tucson for her 6 month portraits when we were there last summer on a visit. I was so impressed with them that I took her to the Sears here for her 1 year portraits. Again, I was impressed. This sitting was MUCH different, though. There was a lot more baby chasing to be done. And baby whining to be managed. And baby screaming to be stopped. And baby induced destruction of equipment to be (narrowly) avoided. But the lady taking her picture was extremely tolerant and patient and actually seemed to enjoy the chaos! Here are some of my favorites:

The "Say Cheeeeeese" Face

I am not sure where this started (or why) but, quite literally every single time I point a camera at Kendall, regardless of what she is doing (playing, eating, crying, etc) THIS is the face she makes! It's absolutely hilarious because it melts away within seconds of the camera being put down and she returns to her previous mood without skipping a beat. I guess I'm going to have to start sneaking up on her if I want any pictures of anything other than teeth ... and with her eyes open!

Aside: And look who is FINALLY standing up in her crib ... and her playpens ... and at window sills ... and at any and all furniture ... and in grocery carts ... and she's trying very hard to figure out how to stand up in her car seat!

Kendall's Latest Discovery

I'm fairly certain the doggy door will be next!

The One Year Check-up

Kendall went to see Dr. Foster on the 5th of this month - exactly one year after she met him for the first time as a newborn in the hospital (she was seen by his partners the first 3 days of her life.) I did not envy her this visit. Not that I really ever envy anyone going to see the doctor, but this one was particularly brutal. The poor kid had THREE shots in the legs and a finger prick, after which she had to sit still (and screaming in pain) while the nurse squeezed her finger and drained it of blood for what seemed like an eternity to me (and I'm sure an even longer eternity to Kendall ... and quite possibly longer still to the nurse). To this day, I still shudder at the childhood memory of being escorted downstairs (in my mind, to Hell) at my doctor's office for the dreaded finger prick. It always hurt. Every single time. It STILL hurts and I'd still really like to scream. I'd really rather have a needle stuck in my arm, not that I'm a fan of that either. To her credit, Kendall stopped crying long before the 4 year old little girl who had her turn just prior to Kendall's bloodletting. I heard that child screaming loud and clear in their car as they pulled out of the parking lot.

Also at this visit, for the first time, Kendall was apprehensive of both the nurse and Dr. Foster. She seemed to be opposed to either of them merely glancing in her general direction. And God forbid I walk across the room to sign something. The world was most assuredly coming to an end when that happened.

With respect to my concerns about her gross motor development, Dr. Foster was not concerned in the least and said to me, "seeing as how Kendall is a first child and has her mother at home with her, I imagine she doesn't have much opportunity to struggle with much of anything." I'm pretty sure that was a not so indirect commentary on my parenting skills. Whatever. It is significantly more pleasant for me (and for Kendall) to help her up. And down. If she's not walking by 18 months, he said he'd worry. Until then, I gathered that it's more MY problem than Kendall's.

Aside from the fact that my child was turned into a baby-shaped pin cushion and the overall visit was much less than pleasant for the both of us, the good news is that Kendall is healthy. She weighs 23.3 pounds (80th percentile) and is 30.75 inches tall (90th percentile.)

Since I get scolded for posting "too many words and not enough pictures" on Kendall's blog, here is a recent picture of Kendall all happy and bundled up for a wagon ride around the neighborhood with Daddy. And for the record, Daddy does not attend visits to the doctor because he can't stand to see Kendall any less happy than she is in this picture. But he does send me regular text messages during her visits accusing the doctor and his staff of torturing his little girl.

The shortest 525,600 minutes of my life

Everyone told me the first year would fly by. I believed them, I really did. But for some reason, I was NOT prepared for Kendall's first birthday to sneak up on me like it just did! The night before her birthday, I laid in bed recalling the night of January 1st, 2009 with extreme clarity. I remembered every painful kick and stretch that I felt in my belly (come to find out I was having contractions and had no idea.) I remembered my last futile attempt to shave my legs while pregnant ... and giving up because I could neither see nor reach them. I remembered thinking that people who told me I'd be tossing and turning and not able to sleep all night were nuts. Sleep eluded me for most of the night, but there was no way my (nearing 200 pound) body could turn without great effort, much less "toss" anywhere. I remembered getting up at 11:45PM to have a piece (or 3) of fudge because I wasn't allowed to eat or drink after midnight. I remembered waking up more thirsty and hungry than I had ever been in my life - solely because I was not allowed to eat or drink anything. I remembered being "not so nice" to Chris on the drive to the hospital because he was "making us late" and "I did NOT want to risk having to remain pregnant for one more day!"

The first few days of her life are a bit hazy due to the drugs, but everything else literally seems like yesterday. So how on Earth did a year go by already???

Here are some pictures from her first birthday party. We kept it small with the following people in attendance: Chris and myself, obviously, Grandmother and Pops, Saba and Nana, Uncle Brian and Aunt Amy, and Cousins Mason and Maya. I was exhausted and can't fathom how I'm going to handle a party for her with other toddlers in attendance. A kid-friendly location with a caterer will definitely be necessary!

Cake #1

Cake #2 (made by yours truly!)

Kendall was a bit tentative with the cake at first but quickly figured out what to do with it ...

.... put it in her hair, of course!

She wasn't a huge fan of the fuzzy, prissy pink hat (she is her mother's child!)

Obviously, she figured out that the cake tasted much better in her mouth than in her hair.

There were lots of cards to look at (and try to eat!)

Kendall received her very first "little blue box" from her parents for her 1st birthday. It was a little silver charm with a "K" on it. This gift was immediately put away for safe-keeping until Kendall is old enough to safely wear a necklace AND old enough to have the proper respect for items that come in little blue boxes!

She got some very cute clothes ... and a puzzle that is adored ...

... and is apparently rather tasty!

She got a Kendall sized sofa that turns into a little futon bed for her playloft ...
... a really fun toy that lets her slam balls with a hammer ...

... a Minnie Mouse purse set ...

... a cute pink rabbit towel (Chris said she "looked like a pink nightmare" but it's ok because she's a girl!) .... a monkey towel that is equally cute ...

... more blocks to spread all over the place ...

... and a really cute Leap Frog stuffed dog that addresses her personally by name!
This was so adored that it got an immediate smoosh.

She got her very first rocking horse that sings and talks ...

... and I have to admit that I was shocked to see that she was big enough to sit on it safely by herself (sigh)!

She got whispers and kisses from Saba and Pops ....

... and from Nana and Grandmother ...

... hugs from Maya ...

... and hugs from Mason!

All in all, I'd say the kid cleaned up on her birthday! We are definitely in need of a larger house in which to store her toys. She's slowly but surely crowding the rest of us out of this house! As you can see in the next picture, she also got her two front teeth, but I think she got those for Christmas. :)
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY sweet monkey girl!!! Please try to age a bit slower for Mommy, ok?