Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Joyful and Content

Beth wrote...
We took a walk in a new neighborhood today. Kaylie held a blanket over the back of her head and pressed around her ears (perhaps for warmth but also for fun, I think). She seemed more joyful and content on this walk than normal. "Normal" meaning since a few walks ago when she stopped loving the stroller. It was a beautiful fall day. A little gray but the air smelled of fruit and dry leaves. Also we've been singing more lately. Kaylie suddenly has gotten super focused when I sing and she giggles at the hand movements for "Itsy-bitsy spider, etc. Later we sat on the porch with blankets and watched the rain.

Kaylie thoughts....
Mommy had a meeting in Chicago today. She left this morning and returned in the evening. I missed her but had a wonderful time with Daddy. He taught me to "howl" and we played "lift the baby over Daddy's head and see what toy I can pick-up". Daddy always finds the most fun games.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Yummy Crayons

Ms. Beth wrote...
Kaylie had her first experience "drawing" today. Silly Miss Beth put her in her highchair thinking: "contained, convenient". Kaylie just thought: "Lunch!" So in reality today was Kaylie's first experience eating crayons. Dad got pictures. And Video.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Grandma and Auntie Deanna

We took a walk today and looked at colored leaves. We also saw apple trees along the way. I enjoyed myself but from time to time the sun would shine right in my eyes (even with the stroller hood down). We'll have to remember the hat from now on! I was a little fussy in the afternoon and would cry at times even when held. Ms. Beth thinks its my teeth again. She put me in the Baby Bjorn and I fell asleep a.s.a.p. Later in the evening, Mommy, Daddy and I traveled to Grandma Debby's and Grandpa Steve's house. We had a delicious pasta dinner with tomatoes and basil from the garden. I also got to play "Patty Cake" with Auntie Deanna. For dessert we all went to get soft serve ice cream from Mr. Freeze's. It was a great day after all!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Whole Foods Grand Opening

New Experiences today. First, Ms. Beth took me out for a walk in a blue backpack, the same backpack that Grandma Peters used to carry my Aunt Rebecca when she was a little baby. I loved it because I was closer to the tree leaves and blue skies. So close, I could almost touch them. Then Ms. Beth, Mommy and I went to the Whole Foods Grand Opening in Cranbrook Square. I got to sample pears, Kashi pizza, a yellow organic cheeto, and a caramel scone. The store was so brightly lit and so colorful. I hope that we will be able to go again, perhaps next time in my new blue backpack!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Music

Beth wrote...
Today we took a long walk with the stroller. We stopped for quite a while to play under a line of trees in Buhr Park near the Cobblestone Farm. Kaylie saw squirrels and cars and leaves and many more things but today her favorites were the thin, long twigs that lay all over the ground. She liked to pick them up and "conduct" with them. Kaylie had no orchestra only the hum of the traffic, the chattering of the squirrels and whatever music was inside her head!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Must...Stay...Awake!

Ms. Beth wrote...
As for me, if I ever try to get out of bed with my eyes still closed it is only because my alarm has rung and I feel I have no choice. Now Kaylie has a different philosophy. For example, today I was told she had woken up quite early, so I anticipated an early nap for her. As expected she began to rub her eyes and stagger about somewhere around 9:45 am. But she would not go down. Two and half hours later she finally gave up and closed her eyes. She seemed to be sleeping deeply about 5 minutes later when suddenly she sat up and opened her eyes. Less than a second later her eyes closed (I think involuntarily) and she nearly fell sideways back onto the mattress. But with the determination of a hero she began "climbing" upwards hands gripping the side of the crib, eyes closed as if in sleep, when Wham! she fell truly asleep again and smacked her face into the wooden slats of the crib She was OK, by the way. This all happened much more quickly than the time it took you to read this and so I was up and by the crib almost in time to save her. Now she is sleeping peacefully on my lap. Once this is written I will try and put her in her crib. Your guess is as good as mine as to what might happen next! :-)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Happy Birthday, Coral!

Today is Coral's 4th birthday party. It was such a fantastic, sunny, cool day and I got to play with so many little kids and babies. Coral's Grandma, PJ, fed me pumpkin ice cream which I loved! By the afternoon, I was so exhausted that I had to take a nap on Mommy's lap. I woke up and all the guests were gone. Apparently that was OK since Mommy and Daddy got to visit longer with Coral's parents. For dinner, we all when out to eat delicious Thai food or at least that is what I've heard...I am still learning to eat white rice.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Nanny-Pattern Baldness

Ms. Beth wrote...Kaylie's latest is pulling my hair out by the roots as she drifts off to sleep. It's apparently extremely soothing for her, but I think I'll put a stop to it before I develop "Nanny-pattern baldness". This new trick began innocently enough. Last week she started holding my braid while trying to fall asleep. That was cute so I let her do it. Little did I know...

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Babies

Ms. Beth and I took a walk with her sister and baby Gabriel again. The sky was deep beautiful blue. We, babies, seem to recognize each other--at least I did. I squealed with delight as soon as I saw my old friend.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

I was on the move today! Very happy, crawling, walking, exploring. Later we took a walk. Beautiful fall weather. I tried to eat a leaf and then promptly threw up! I didn't seem very upset by the experience; so we just went home and Ms. Beth put me in a new outfit. Babies are never boring at this age. Poor Kaylie, should she ever be allowed to touch a leaf again?

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Try, Try Again

We played with all kind of toys this morning. I was shaking a plastic toy back and forth when some alien force aimed it towards my face and -whack!-I didn't even see it coming. At least that's the story. Toddlerhood is one of the more dangerous phases as we all know...it is a good thing babies seem to be made of rubber most of the time. It's times like this morning, though, that have Ms. Beth shaking her head in wonderment, "If I failed at anything that often would I keep going as Kaylie does? I guess it's at least possible, after all I did learn to walk! Babies are amazing."

Monday, September 15, 2008

Walk with Baby Gabriel

I am much happier now that I am well. We played in the morning, then Ms. Beth's sister called because she was in town and the girls in school. We decided to meet and join our afternoon walk! Gabriel and I were so happy! Ms. Beth said that it was adorable because we smiled and squealed and made faces at each other. I didn't want Gabriel out of my sight for even a moment. Gabriel showed off his new teeth especially since he was smiling so much at me.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Return to Ann Arbor

What a wonderful vacation! Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa were all happy. I had the best time sitting and walking in the Executive VIP lounge on the 45th floor of the Hilton. Grandma would feed me all kinds of delicious muffins and breads. Not really a fan of sourdough bread. The chandeliers were magnificent and shiny and the huge flower arrangements smelled wonderfully sweet. All the people were kind to us. Our flight home was shorter and very bumpy at the end due to the rain storm as we headed to DTW airport. I just held on to Daddy and I was just fine.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Japanese Gardens

The warm sun decided to peek its head today. We walked on the paths in the Japanese Gardens located in Golden Gate State Park. I enjoyed hearing the waterfalls, birds, and sounds of children running and playing. I can't wait until I can also run like them. Daddy carried me in the Baby Bjorn and together we climbed the steep circular bridge. Up was fine, going down was a bit trickier. I loved making the growling noises that Grandpa Peters taught me. A deep throat Grrrr..

Friday, September 12, 2008

Alcatraz Tour

Today is a cold, cloudy day in San Francisco. Mommy constantly worried that I was not warm enough, but I was just fine. We got to walk all around Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and explored Alcatraz island. I loved to watch all the people and squealed when I saw the birds. Also, today was my first true San Francisco taxi ride -- we went up and down the hills like crazy!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Pixar Studios



We all got into a town car, crossed the bay bridge and checked-in at the Pixar Studios security gate for our VIP tour. Daddy wore my name tag since I have had the tendency to chew on paper. Well, I found out that I am not a fan of the big blue monster named Sully. He scared me and I cried. You can see here that Mommy and Daddy had to slowly back me close to Sully for a photo. We learned all about the making (storyboarding, rendering process, environmental and character designs, models and voices) of the movie Wall-E. We also took a bottle break and watched a private viewing of Wall-E, the short film Presto, and the trailer for Up! I was extremely tired when we got back to the Hilton, so Daddy and I took a rest while Mommy, Grandma, and Grandpa went shopping at William Sonoma, Tiffany's, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sweepstakes Trip to SFO

Grandma Peters was the Grand Prize winner in the Starz Entertainment/ABC/Disney Sweepstakes . She won a four-day trip to San Francisco, CA complete with a VIP tour of Pixar Studios for four people. I got to tag along since I am little. Today we flew out to SFO and Daddy met us later in the evening since he was an ambassador for the Impact Michigan meeting and coordinator for the Leadership Ann Arbor class of 2008-2009. The flight was 5.5 hours and I was unhappily crying for about 1 hour because I had a hard time with some poo. It felt so nice to rest my head on the soft pillows that the Hilton San Franscisco hotel provided for me in my crib.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Not Strep Throat

I had a doctor's appointment today. My throat is really bothering me but it looks like it not strep. This has been my first real illness. I also have another tooth coming in, so it's a bit much for me. Everyone is happy for my recovery-especially for Mommy and Ms. Beth. They want to see my sunny personality again!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Little Feverish

I am still a little feverish. After my nap and banana and prune lunch we took a walk in the stroller to take advantage of the cool air today. I laid back in the seat which was a first --usually I sit up as far forward as possible even when the stroller back is not supporting me. While on our walk we saw so many leaves on the ground already. Beth said, "Somehow I am surprised ever year".

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sick Day

I have had a fever since 4 am this morning and feel sick all day. I want Ms. Beth and Mommy to hold me all the time. We went to the doctor's office and they took my temperature, looked into my ears and down my throat. I was not at all happy with all of that. The best part of my day was when my cousins, Kaitlyn and Lauren, came to play with me. We had a houseful of guests for dinner including Grandma Debby, Grandpa Steve, Uncle Andy, Aunt Debora, Marsha and Gary Housel.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Auntie JoAnn's Birthday

In celebration of Auntie JoAnn's Birthday, I played in the back yard, read books (did not eat them) and spent a lot of time crawling, "walking", and exploring. Happy Birthday Auntie JoAnn!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Home Again, Home Again

I am not feeling well (maybe my teeth?). I was very weepy and tired and needed to be held all day except for playing on the floor a little. We went to the library and Ms. Beth had to hold me there also.

Monday, September 1, 2008

End of SciFi Conference

I love the Baby Bjorn. Daddy carries me so that I can see all the people in costumes as we traveled to the artist's gallery. We fly home today which means I get to sleep in my own crib. I was so tired that I slept the entire flight home and so wired when I got home that I thoroughly enjoyed playing with my toys in the front room.