The Munch rolls 10 months...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  10 months and 3 days

Family,

The Munch at 10 months!  With a sort of
Aunt Jamaima thing going on...

And a good Monday evening to you from the Queen City, where the Bull is NOT watching football on a Monday night for the first time since August.  Oh, the horror, the horror!  But no complaints, as now that football is coming to an end, I might actually get to bed at a decent hour and get some more reading done over the next 8 months.  But hey, enough about me.  Let's turn the focus to the reason you're reading this blog - the Munchkin!

So what a week it's been (sense a pattern forming here?)!  For starters, before JT left on Monday, she said "Munch Munch is really stopped up."  As she's had a cold every day for the last 4 months, I honestly didn't think anything about it.  When I went to wake her, however, I was stunned by how labored her breathing sounded.  And when I did actually wake her up, it was clear that something was NOT right.

While it may smell like an open sewer in
Calcutta, don't be fooled - the Munch
LOVES this stuff - sucks it down like candy.

For starters, the munch ALWAYS smiles when she wakes up in the morning.  She is, simply put, the happiest kid I have EVER seen.  So when she looked up at me dazed with puffy eyes, I knew we had a problem.  And then, when I put her on the changing table and listened to her working so hard for air (I will confess that I was genuinely concerned her windpipe was constricted and she was allergic to something), I knew we had to call the doctor.  As with the ER visit, I was definitely in the err on the side of caution camp.  Consequently, 10 minutes and 1 phone call later, I had a 9:30 appointment with the Peds.

As always, our doctor was fantastic.  She gave her a good check-up and then confirmed something we had feared - her ear infection had returned.  No amoxicillin this time, though - we upgraded to Cefdinir (aka - "clean your system out and do a reboot").  Dr. K told us that Kaitlyn would sound better within 72 hours and that we'd hear her cough break up, and she was NOT kidding.  We've still got 2 days to go (this is not one of those medicines where you're supposed to finish it all), but there's no question it's working, as she's definitely more mobile and seems to be happier.  She is still pulling her ears some, but I don't think there's any question that she's feeling better.

Working on standees!  We've seen the
occasional step but nothing consistent.
Almost there, little one!

I wanna play, mommy!  Look at the Munch
pulling herself up to her knees.  SO CLOSE
to figuring out all she needs to do is put
weight on those teeny little feetsies!

The rest of the week passed without incident (and she returned to daycare on Tuesday), and Saturday was a first for Sammy - a night alone in the house with the munch!  The only other time K had been without Jenny for a night was during KJ's bachelorette party, but I'd had mom here to help.  This time, however, I was on my own.  And whilst I wasn't worried, I have to admit I was a bit intimidated.  And, as fate would have it, NOT without good reason. :-)

JT was visiting Cuz and our friend Jen Webb, and the plan was to spend the night there.  Well, I got the sneetch down like a shot at 7:30, but at 8:40 she woke up screaming like a zombie was after her.  I mean, we are talking, NO WARNING JUST START SHOUTING.  I checked the diaper - no poopy. I bounced her for a bit and got 2 burps out - still no luck.  She then passed enough gas on my leg to refill the ozone with depleted methane, but still no joy.  I tried to put her down, and she went BSC.  I then picked her back up and gave her some infant Tylenol followed by a bottle of formula, but she was still going crazy.  Ultimately I put her down, and after another 12 minutes of screaming like she had bamboo under her fingernails, she gave out and passed out, sleeping soundly until 6:48 AM.  Let's just say I was relieved to survive my first night solo.  I now have even more respect for my wife for taking care of K and keeping this place afloat whilst I'm traveling for work.

Ultimately...I caved and just fed her.

The sneetch's first dance with the sippy cup -
.00001 oz in her mouth, 3 oz on the floor.

Saturday was also a big day because it was K's 10 month photo shoot.  10 months!?!?!?!  How is that even possible?  What an amazing voyage of discovery this last month has been.  K has finally gone mobile, and she's so close to pulling herself up.  She's now on stage 3 foods as well as table food, and daycare has gone almost exclusively (certainly 50-75% on a daily basis) to table foods.  She's learned how to play games, is starting to comprehend cause and effect, and (we think) is close to saying her first word.  Now, Grammie will tell you that she's already said it (she thinks K is saying "light" when she barks "aight," but JT and I are not sold.  After all, whilst she does say "aight" when looking at lights, she also says it when looking at sofas, the TV, tables, stuffed animals, and even her parents.  Sooooo...the jury's still out on that). :-)  She's close to stepping as well, but there's definitely a reluctance to do that when she's standing (but it is AMAZING how well she's standing now).

On the development front, she's also started trying the sippy cup.  It's a daily staple at daycare, but we've been a bit slack about it here at the house.  I'm conscious we need to get after that, and it IS something we'll get into this week (and this weekend at the latest).  I just feel we've had to prioritize development items, and for me mobility has had top billing as of late.

I mean, you can buy her all the expensive toys
in the world, but nothing will ever, EVER
fascinate her like a broken door stopper.

As for K, she continues to have a smile that could melt a glacier and is, I think and hope, a very happy, healthy paper.  Mom and dad are getting a bit more relaxed about everything, and for my part I finally feel caught up enough to start planning ahead for the next 12 months (vs. being in survival mode).  We've started looking into swimming lessons, and I'm trying to think about how to make the move to finger foods and sippy cups and further facilitate and encourage the work they are doing at daycare.  We are working on baby proofing the house, and we've even purchased the next size carseat!  So yes, the inexorable march of time continues, with our daughter growing up daily before our eyes and us scrambling to document every single whilst soaking it in.  The reality is that I know I'm going to blink and watch her driving away to college (actually, who am I kidding, I'm driving her there freshman year, damn it!), and so I have to continue and ensure I soak up every moment.  The good news is that I think we are doing that as best we can, as we get a lot of dedicated time with K when she's home from daycare and on weekends.  Work has been great for me lately, as I've had some new exciting challenges which has really helped me compartmentalize and focus during the work day.  That means I feel really good about what I've accomplished by the time I pick K up, and so I can focus all my energy and attention on her.

Okay, that's all for this edition - another great week in the books!  Chat with you next week!

Love,

Sam and Jenny