That's Gonna Leave a Mark....

See the "boo boo" above her eye??

The small one is not yet walking (well, a few little steps here and there, but then she gets this panicked look and sits down...) but holy cow, she is still ever so mobile and faster than  you can imagine.  And of course, she is testing her limits and curious about how everything works.  For example, "Even if I shake it really fast, will the kitty's tail still remain attached;" "How would this little piece of (insert random thing) taste;" "How hard can I patty-cake Mommy's head before she says 'owww'?"  You get the picture.  Keeps Daddy and I on our toes for sure, and of course, she is always so amusing.  The reactions are priceless!

Being mobile and curious also means that there are tears and cuts and bruises to go along with it.  This is a shitty part about being a Mom.... having to remain calm and collected while you are trying to soothe boo-boos and stop the bleeding.  Yep, that's fun.  And seems to come in sets.  (Her first fall from a high object happened on July 4th, followed by a spill off of the couch the next day and not a hour later: bumping her head on the tile floor (she managed to find the very small spot that wasn't covered to touch down at!).  I know I'm not the first nor last parent that it happens to, but talk about making you feel like a horrible parent!  She's no worse for the wear.....  and then this weekend we had actual injuries complete with bleeding. 

Friday night she was crawling around in her room and while trying to use the glider ottoman for support, she fell down and hit her head on the corner.  When I picked her up, there was blood above her left eye;  fortunately it was a very small abrasion but I was worried on how hard she hit and if she was going to get a shiner.  A little infant ibuprofen, a cold pack and lots of kisses must have worked wonders because, the cut is almost healed already and BabyK doesn't hardly remember what happened! (So, I'm so bad: I was secretly hoping that there would be no evidence for her Birthday on Wednesday and of course the big party next weekend!)

This morning she was up at the crack of dawn... of course on a "sleep in" day.  (I know, everyone told me that those no longer existed as a parent of young children, but a girl can hope!) I decided to be nice to Daddy and took her downstairs so that he could go back to sleep and get some rest.  We had such a nice time playing and eating a lovely waffle for breakfast.... you know that it would have to be interrupted by a boo-boo.  Kiera bumped her mouth on an edge of her high chair when she was going to sit down..... I picked her up to comfort her and a few seconds later discovered blood everywhere down the front of me, her face, clothes... "Poor Kiera, what did you do to yourself?"  I couldn't see a wound through the bleeding.  I thought about getting Jason, but decided to just handle it on my own even though a baby writhing in pain and confusion is hard to contain to comfort and 'fix.'  A few minutes later Jason came down to see what all of the commotion was about and helped me to get Kiera calmed down after some mild compression, a little "boo boo" juice and Dusty kitty to coax out a smile.  I'm assuming that she cut her gums on the down-ward fall.  Ugh. 

Both were minor incidents, but make you feel horrible none-the-less.  I'm not squeamish around blood, but the sight of it on your own child makes you feel raw and irresponsible.  Short of padding our home in bubble-wrap, there's not much that we can do to shield Kiera from minor injuries- it's a part of growing up I imagine.  My outward reaction is to remain calm, but I still feel a bit nauseous- probably from the momma-bear endorphins kicking in to help my little cub.  One thing that does make dealing with this easy is to know basic first aid and have readily available a first aid kit stocked with age-appropriate essentials in dealing with accidents and injuries.  I received some of the items as a gift at one of my baby showers and it was a wonderful gift that keeps giving even now.  I just have to go find some fun themed bandagess for it now and perhaps a bottle of rum for mommy....

Fun with Baby Kiera- "Kiss the Baby"

Our sweet girl loves giving kisses-  to inanimate objects and stuffed animals!! Her family, on the other hand, definately has to work for kisses from Kiera!  Mommy finally thought to grab her trusty FlipCam Slide (luv it!) and actually shoot a video.  And I have to say that I'm proud of myself for getting it off of the camera within a day- yay Mommy! 

Kiera obviously loooooves other kids- she squeals with delight upon first sight of any random child when we are out in public.  And even in pictures, she is enamored (wish I would have captured the one of her and the mirror!) and then  her other favorite thing (next to food) is our cat, Dusty.  He helps keep the peace when we have a fussy girl.  Watch her react to both in this cute (so I'm biased!) little clip:

Fun with Baby Kiera- Food Style and HER First Word

Brain Freeze! Brain Freeze!

The past few days weeks months have just flew on by; each day seems to come to a close much faster than the previous one and I often go to bed at night thinking, "Exactly what did I get accomplished today??!!"  Aside from the 9 to 5, household organization is finally coming to fruition (thank you, thank you flylady.net!), I'm feeling more balanced, and I think I'm getting the hang of this "MOM" thing (it's only taken 350 days plus prego time??? LOL)!  Now if I can finally balance momblogging, viola!  ( :  Well... 4 out of 5 isn't bad, right..... 

I've neglected to take the advice of my dear friend Katie and have not written down the daily events of life with Kiera and have had to glance over my Facebook page to see what we've been up to (and even then, I'm inclined to leave off some details... like her falling twice in one weekend... )  Don't worry, I won't forget- yeah... so, Kindle, dear so-pregnant friend- I know you are reading this (and probably the only one who does!)- please make sure that you note the days' events with your two (yes, two!)  bundles of joy when they finally make their blessed appearances in November- you will get mommybrain and forget the little details that will be important to you later in life!  Looking back it seems like the only thing that we do is eat (posts on donuts: 9 in the last 2 months; posts on pancakes: 5; coffee:  um, decline to state as the price tag might be shocking!; fun pictures of Kiera eating- well, those are PRICELESS and hence, good blogworthy fodder!)

Me likey pasgetti Mommy!

Kiera loves to eat- she gets that from her dad- and has been "mooching" our food for months... a sure sign that she's ready for 'big girl' food!  And the next sign? That her first recognizable "word" was MORE. (07/11/10) Yep, not 'mommy,' but more.  (I'm sure that she's been saying 'dada' for awhile, but it's interchangeable to both of us) However, her use of the word 'more' is clearly an attempt to ask for what ever we are currently eating/ drinking.  It's very comical!  Except for when it is followed by a "Heeeeyyyyy" in a larger-than-life-'outside'-voice inside of a restaurant.  (I'm a huge believer in table manners- but ask me that when she's two!)  On her yumm list so far: pasta (she gets that from me); cauliflower (I know- right?!); french toast; pancakes; crumb donuts (hey- she ate them when she was bakin' in the belly, why not now in limited sample sizes??); eggs; mac-n-cheese; watermelon; bacon; pears; applesauce; carrots; corn; beans; cereal; hamburger.  I'm-so-gonna-get-shit-for half of the stuff on the list so I might as well:  but she also loves soda and ice cream too, and certainly didn't make a yucky-face at Mommy's frappacino.  (Yep, peoples, I'm dosin' her up with massive amounts of sugar and caffeine, call CPS on me...). 

Mmm... Popsicle. (07/04/10)

We basically let her try our suitable food... and she's lovin' it; the downfall is that she wants NOTHING to do with the store-bought baby food now (read: save money!).  The added benefit to Kiera's dinner time, is that Jason and I actually sit at the table to eat now; previously it was just another unused flat surface!  Dinner time is family time and definitely chock full of entertainment value- those faces are priceless.  And to watch her contemplate whether she likes a new texture/ taste or not is also quite amusing.  There have been quite a few 'lemon- faces' too, and now when she doesn't like something, she sticks her tongue out until you wipe it off.  (Not spitting it out yet- thank goodness!)   I love watching her pick up the pieces and put them in her mouth; she then uses the side of her hand to ensure it's completely in her mouth and give her six little teeth a workout.

No honey, that's not an edible bowl!

The family dog is also beginning to love her- rather her leftovers- the ratio of ingested food to what winds up on her, in the high chair or on the floor is about 1:4.  A tasty puppy treat indeed.  Clean-up is always an adventure as well- shake the baby off over the sink and wrestle with her to clean hands and face!  Fun times.  Amazing- before I used to love to catch a movie or dinner with friends, and now I treasure feeding time with the little one.... ahhh.. mommyhood!

One of her first "finger food" experiences.. pureed carrots!

BabyK is on the Move.....

Just yesterday... well, actually 18 short days ago.... the little one started exploring her world at knee level.  What started out as a "stiff-armed inch-worm action" is now full blown speed-crawling!  She's a fast little girl.  It's so exciting, yet at the same time so sad- Jason and I are forced to acknowledge the fact that she is growing up so very quickly.  First, is was holding her own bottle and now it's a one-handed hand-pass thing.... and even standing- yep, I said standing.  Mommy made the mistake of showing her how to stand by propping her up against one of her toys last Wednesday, and now she is doing her best to stand with the limited furniture that we have for her to push herself up on.... which means that the stairs are now her favorite 'toy.'  As is he cat.... and I have video to prove it.  (Thank you to both my honey's for the new FlipCam for Mother's Day.... we finally picked one out and here is the debut video...... enjoy!)

Nature.... Nurture.... Bad Genetics?

I'm a small town girl turned coupon-clippin', bargain shopping, latte-sippin' yuppie; what I would call the best of both worlds.  Although I grew up in a blink-and-you-miss-it California town that didn't have much diversity, I 'summered' with my dad in Sacramento and was able to experience other cultures.  I wasn't sheltered, just was fortunate to live in small town where we didn't lock our doors at night or some even left their keys in the vehicle ignitions.  That changed when I was preparing to move for college:  I came over to do my matriculation and was going to meet dad for lunch.  I somehow got on the wrong freeway and while sitting at a gas station trying to get my bearings, I was mugged.  In broad daylight.  At knifepoint.  The creep didn't get more than $20, but also took my 'new' ring- a family heirloom that was a graduation present.  It was a horrible experience, however, I've never gotten lost since (and that was pre-GPS, peoples!) and it certainly heightend my sense about trusting anyone.   I still prefer to think that 80% of the population is generally good; but now that I'm a Mommy, it's much harder for me to grant people the benefit of the doubt.  I have my family to think about and I have no qualms about being critical now.  Had I really paid attention to my prickling hair when the mugger was approaching my car, I would have rolled up my window and possibly not have gotten mugged.  Perhaps.  I pay attention to the bat senses much more now. 

And I also have started to pay attention to things that, in the past, I would have waived off pre-Kiera.  I've always been a pretty open-minded liberal individual; just now I wonder what happened to the other 20% of the population that either makes a public spectacle of themselves or are plainly just bad individuals.  What sets them off?  Experiencing a bad childhood?  Bad parenting?  Bad role models?  Or just bad genetics?  And how do I sit down with my sweet little girl in five years and try to explain to her that sometimes the world just sucks? 

How do I show her that the train-wreck that is Lindsay Lohan will not ever be cool or a good role model- can you believe that she is the same cute little girl from Parent Trap?  I shudder to think where her train derailed; in this case I'm assuming that it was from irresponsible parenting and more concern about their gravy train rather than raising a normal child.  Ugh.  At least I have a very good basis for how I do NOT want my child to turn out. 

I could go on with other celebrities: Britney Spears, once a hot mess (but not as bad as Lohan IMO); struck gold at a young age and was forced to grow up too fast.  Her dad seems to have it dialed in, but Brit created her own Circus, hit rock bottom and has made an impressive comeback; thanks in part to good parenting. 

And although I like this teenager's dad since his "Achy Breaky" days, little Miley Cyrus needs a serious spanking.   I came across her live performance on Dancing with the Stars while channel surfing and had that united parental thought, "if that were my daughter..."  In full disclosure, I have to admit that I like the song but not the outfit and performance by the 17-year old....  I hope that Billy Ray tries to at least remember that she could be a good role model as long as they keep her 'tamed' until she's older- and no, not just 18; into her 20's.... now Beyonce (and even Justin Timberlake... every time I hear that song I think of the SNL parody and laugh) rocked the black onesie, but Miley.... not so much, it seemed like a little girl trying to be an adult too fast.

See what I mean?  I probably wouldn't have thought twice about something like this before I became a mom, it's just now....... hmmm.  Seriously. I'm not even really judgemental or catty; I just want to have a good environment and positive, normal role models for baby girl to experience.  Like Taylor Swift.... or even Drew Barrymore- a childhood star that started on the left path, but straightened her life out and rocks it now.  Although it sucks that I even have to show her good egg and bad egg analogies and teach her about stranger danger, it is my job as a parent.... I hoped and prayed and chose to have her and must be diligent in my lifelong job of raising a good person, a positive role model and productive citizen.... nature- nurture- genetics- whatever- with good parenting, it should all turn out good in the end.