hlywdiana – A Blog for My Daughter

Happy 2nd Birthday!

hlywdiana — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 04:14:00 +0000

WOW! 2 years old today. I cannot believe how the time has just flown by.

The difference between 1 year and 2 years is huge for so many reasons. The first being that I am more occupied by entertaining Kahlan and running my everyday life now, that this blog and immortalizing memories in pictures and words has just not happened as much as I wish it would. But more importantly, Kahlan has changed so much.

She’s changing every single day by leaps and bounds. She is starting to show her need for independence even more and it’s amazing and frustrating at the same time. Her word count has skyrocketed from even just a month ago. Just in this past week she started repeating a word right after I say it even though she’s never said that word before.

She started hopping with both feet at the same time. She loves to spin around, more specifically when Brian or I hold her and spin really fast. It makes me so dizzy and nauseous even but she loves it.

She loves to dress up. Bracelets, necklaces, earrings, dresses and skirts are a favorite as well as hats. Hats of all types. Oh, and butterfly wings. Flying around the living room in her wings, I can’t help but smile.

She loves to perform and to sing. Oh my god does she love to sing. She stands there with her microphone and belts out a note along to the music. It doesn’t matter if its the radio or me trying to get a key right on her guitar. She just sings. And the best is when she spreads her arms wide and she puts everything she has into that one note.

Her make believe playtime has started to change too. Now she is actually pretending processes. Like baking muffins. She breaks her eggs and pours things into the bowl, whisks it, spoons it into her tin, bakes it and then eats it. She even burps and uses her sign for excuse me.

She recently started pretending our closet is an elevator and we ride it up and down in the morning. Even with a hop as it stops at the floors.

She started this cute thing where when you ask her a question she tips her head to the side, puts her finger by her mouth and makes a thinking noise.

She has learned to move her step stool from the bathroom into the kitchen not only to play with the light switch, but to more easily move along the counter to grab things. Her learning tower I guess it to heavy for her to move. So smart she is.

She is finally mastering the stair descent, but still likes to be carried up and down the stairs. Of course she is getting big and it gets harder every time, but I won’t stop just yet as I don’t want her to stop asking.

She is still a lover of all things bubbles. Even the bubbles in the bathtub, the bubbles when she washes her hands, the bubbles in the puddles…..bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.

She loves learning how things work, which she obviously inherited from her father. She is always looking at things very carefully, and I can just see her learning and figuring it out.

She has developed a love for Mickey Mouse. She recognizes all the characters and can point them out, but she LOVES Mickey. And Pete. No clue why, but she also points and says Pete.

She still loves cheese, peanut butter and yogurt as much as she did a year ago, but she is really loving on soup. Her favorite being Chicken Noodle. She loves to say soup, she loves to pretend to make soup, she loves to eat soup. She even dips her crackers into the broth.

She is mischievous and crazy sometimes. She even brings me to the end of my rope on some days. And I always feel bad after I yell, because just look at that face. I know she is just doing her job in learning her limits and learning what she can do. I try to remind myself of that all the time. She is just being a kid.

Everyday I lay in bed I think, “Phew, thank god today is over. What are we doing tomorrow? What time do I have to get up? When is nap time again?”

But I also think, “How did I get so lucky?” She really is a calm child. A caring child. Running to a baby when she hears it crying to check on it. She is energetic and full of it. She is a ham and loves attention.

She has the most infectious laugh. She will randomly break out into a laugh for no reason at all, just to laugh. And I can’t help but follow suit. She’ll cover her mouth to laugh. Or put her hands on her belly and laugh. She loves to laugh.

And boy what a beautiful smile. She smiles with her whole face, even her eyes. She has a gleam in them that just tells you she is so happy.

She also has a way to cry on que. Yeah, maybe she is a star in the making.

Today she hit her head and normally she runs to me. I leaned down and kissed her head, then went to pick her up and she pushed me away and went to Brian for hugs. It was amazing to see her go to him for comfort, and I’m sure he loved it too. Just as long as it’s not all the time. I still need to take care of my baby.

She is the love of my life. My everything. We have our days that are trying, but we always come back to cuddle and hug each other. We always come back to our unconditional love for each other. It is the greatest feeling in the world. And I know it may not last, she’ll become a teenager and I’ll become the enemy. But I hope that we will always have it this way. My life is truly complete with her in it.

Happy Birthday My Love.

The First Sled

hlywdiana — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 03:17:00 +0000

So the weather and our schedule finally worked together and we were able to go sledding. It was cold, like really cold, but we still went.

https://youtu.be/MBzbBkA8D8o

This should have been posted so long ago, stupid blogger platform.

The Last Diaper?

hlywdiana — Mon, 02 Jan 2017 00:25:00 +0000

I may have just started the last load of diapers ever! On a whim I decided to try the potty again with Kahlan, and she has taken to it well. We’ve had many more hits then misses, and it’s only been 24 hours. And it’s weird. It’s not official that she’s out of diapers yet for daytime, but that’s all I can think about, and it makes me sad. It’s very bittersweet the idea of it. I no longer have to wash diapers, fuck ya! But that means my baby is no longer my baby, cue the tears. I never thought I would feel this way about diapers, I can’t imagine what it will be like when she stops nursing. Again, cue the tears.

Merry Christmas 2016!!

hlywdiana — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 02:23:00 +0000

I was so excited for Christmas this year. It was the first year she got excited by lights and Christmas decorations. It was the first year she would be able to open her own presents. She’s finally able to vocalize excitement. I was not disappointed. I hope her Christmas was wonderful. It was in my eyes.

More pics to come!!

I Don’t Want to Forget

hlywdiana — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 02:40:00 +0000

How you flap your arms like wings as your dad flies you around the living room with your butterfly wings on.
How you say “baby”, “mama” and “dada”.
Your laugh when I cover you in kisses.
How much you love peanut butter….and swings. Oh the love of swings is so strong with you.
How you have developed a love for dance.
How amazingly daring you are. Fearless. Willing to try anything and not afraid to fall. Which is a good thing for you, and a bad thing for my heart.
How you will grab something and use it like a microphone, singing your heart out.
How you run with your elbow bent and held high, swinging your arms back and forth with determination.
How you randomly shake your head viciously because you seem to love to be dizzy.
How you ask me to spin you around and around in my arms because again, you seem to love to be dizzy.
Your love of LEDs and lights – probably encouraged more by your dad – but you love them and are enamored by them. You even have a little collection of flashlights and lights going.
How you love to paint. Oh how you love to paint. On paper, on your hand. Mixing the colors. Pointing them out to me. You even try different things with your brushes and watch to see what it will do.
You’re so inquisitive and (just like your dad) want to know how things work.
You love of hiding in or under things and then saying “hello” until someone comes and finds you.
How you take your mattress and put it on the bottom step to turn it into a slide. And then the exclamation of “whee!” as you roll down it.
You’re love of Mickey Mouse. And how the only other character you know by name on the Clubhouse show is “Pete”….of all characters.
Your crazy hair. It has so many ringlets. It gets so tangled in the back sometimes. It sticks out on the sides like wings. It’s just so light and crazy – it’s really fabulous.
How you try to clean up. Taking your rag and bottle. Making a “spiss-spiss” noise and then wiping with the rag. Or using your mop or broom to help me clean.
Your love of your Bike. I’m so glad we got that for you. You would ride it all day if you could. Well ride it all day to different sets of swings that is. You’re always asking for a bike ride, even at night or when its freezing and raining outside. Every day is a good day for a bike ride.
How you kiss my chest at night before bed.
How you snuggle with me in the mornings.
Your love of curling up with me and a book.
Your love of music and your guitar. You just walk around playing it, strumming and singing.
The faces you make. You’re just so expressive. Your “O” face with big eyes. Your “cheese” face with the huge grin. The one where you pull back your lips and open your eyes wide.’
The way you make me laugh.

There’s just so many little things you do that I just never want to forget. I can’t even name them all because there’s just too many. I know they say parents are biased, and frankly I know I am. But you’re just go god damn adorable it hurts. And you have such a personality that just shines.

Halloween 2016

hlywdiana — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 06:55:00 +0000

Omg I suck. I have completely failed this blog the past month or so. I didn’t even post our Halloween pics. So here you go.

I should also say that Kahlan went trick-or-treating and LOVED IT!! She kept following all the kids and running to the houses. She was so proud to show off her bucket of candy. I wasn’t sure how scared she would get because she wasn’t liking the decor at home a lot. But she did really well. I was happy.

Anywho. Here’s the pics.

Kahlan’s Halloween costume when we went to the farmparks. She was a monster.

She loves sitting in these giant pumpkins.

We picked out pumpkins at Patterson’s.

We had a Halloween party with friends.

There was Halloween story time.

Then we pick out our family pumpkins and carved them.

On Halloween we enjoyed eyeball pancakes and went to music class.

Then we set up our yard and went trick or treating.

Williamsburgh, VA (PHOTO OVERLOAD!)

hlywdiana — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 01:58:00 +0000

I sat on this post for a while now because all my pictures are still loading in dropbox – I took over 300. So finally, here it goes.

Well, it’s taken nearly a week, but I feel that I have finally caught up to life again, that’s why it’s taken me so long to post this. So lets start at the beginning.

Last Saturday (Sept 24th), Kahlan and I took a trip to Willamsburgh, VA with our friend Heather and her son Oliver. The grandma’s had a free week and gave it to me, so since Brian couldn’t go, I thought I would make it a fun trip with a friend.

The ride down went surprisingly well, arriving around 9pm, making the trip down a little over 12 hours for stops and meals. We talked a lot in the car and by the time we got there my voice was starting to disappear. More on that later.

So we took it easy on Sunday, eating at a local pancake house, getting some groceries and then hanging out at the condo area.

Monday we went to the Virgina Beach Aquarium and Kahlan had a blast. I mean anywhere you walk up to the building to find seals and a place to eat lunch is good in any book. The thing she (and frankly I) liked most was the gigantic sea turtles. Though any turtle in the building seemed to catch her attention. Then we went to the beach. I figured since she loved the sand in Flordia and her sandbox at home this would be a huge hit. Not at all. She would get out of her stroller for a minnute or two, then start to cry and get back in. And as for putting our toes in the ocean, nope, didn’t happen. But I got as close as I could.

Tuesday we went swimming at the indoor pool and she had a blast. She loved jumping in, and for some reason thinks she can swim on her own already. Then dinner at Red Robin, where the best part was the red balloon at the exit and of course some Oreos for dessert.

Wednesday we went shopping at the Merchants Square on the William and Mary University campus. So cute and fun to see, and a lot of great shops too. I may have gotten some Christmas gifts even. Then lunch on the green and off to the biggest Yankee Candle store I’ve ever been in. She really liked the animated show in the center square, and was not a fan of the snow in the Christmas section until she realized it was foam and had bubbles in it.

Thursday we went to the Richmond Children’s Museum and I’m so happy we did. Besides the fact that two minutes before we got there Kahlan vomited. (She was acting normal and progressed thoughout the whole day like nothing happened.) That place was so much fun and Kahlan just kept going and going. If it was local, I would have gotten a membership right then and there. It made me think about checking the local one out here once it reopens again. She really loved the apple tree, and freaked when she saw the carousel inside. She kept pointing to the chicken and signing for it. I kept telling her it only ran at certain times, and thank god that time came quick because she started freaking about riding the chicken. So I got us tickets, and she was so ecstatic it was hilarious.

Friday we kept it calm at the condo, did some more swimming and just relaxed knowing we had a long drive the next day.

And long drive it was. Kahlan vomited 4 times on the entire ride home. I didn’t know what was happening. The first time I changed her I noticed red spots on her torso. And then I started to rack my brain about seeing them earlier in the week maybe? But I just wasn’t sure. So as the day progressed, the spots spread. By the time we got home she had a fever of 101.7 and spots were starting down her arms and legs. I slept beside her that night, and she woke me up with a kiss and she was on fire. She wasn’t crying or complaining so I didn’t check her temperature, and she went back to sleep. By morning the fever was gone and the spots were everywhere. She was sad and clingy and by monday morning some of the spots had turned to little blisters. So we went to the doctors. Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease, yay. Turns out that my voice disappearing was actually a virus. See it wasn’t until about Thursday or Friday that I started to talk and feel normal again. And it turns out Brian was having the same issues at home. We had both gotten a virus, and gave it to Kahlan, and it turned out to be the same virus that causes HFM. So yay us!

So the past few days have become a blur, and it wasn’t until yesterday (Oct 5th) morning that I realized I am missing my precious breastmilk necklace. And frankly I’m devastated. I’ve had moments of vowing to never take another trip again. It just ended horribly, and frankly there were some not fun times during the week too.

But we did it, we survived it, we’re home. Kahlan is on the mend, her little blisters are nearly gone. I suspect she should be normal again by the weekend. And her appetite started coming back today too, so that’s a great thing, as she doesn’t have the weight to lose.

UPDATE: Brian had a resurge of HFM to the extreme. He ended up with blisters everywhere, couldn’t walk and even took some days off work!!! Now his skin is peeling from where all the blisters were. He had it way worse then even Kahlan, and was told he had the worst case the doctor had seen in an adult. He’s so special.

Itsy Bitsy

hlywdiana — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 01:44:00 +0000

Learning new things every day!

http://youtu.be/pjgsNh03O4A

Picture spam

hlywdiana — Tue, 06 Sep 2016 03:43:00 +0000

Gold star for brushing!!

hlywdiana — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 22:33:00 +0000

Today Kahlan had her second dentist appointment. She doesn’t like me looking in her mouth, so while I hoped for a good appointment, I was prepared for it to be hard. And as usual she did amazing. She wasn’t exactly a willing participant, but she barely complained.

They brushed her, gave her a Floride treatment and check for cavities or trouble spots. Of which there is none. Whoohoo – the brushing is paying off.

They gave her a new Pooh toothbrush, which she started using in the office to the techs amazement. And we stopped on the way home to get some toddler toothpaste which we will try out tonight.

I’m glad that I was conscious of getting her started with the dentist and brushing so early on. I know she’s still really young, but it seems to be working to make it just an every day part of her routine.

Doctor Checkin

hlywdiana — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 15:13:00 +0000

Just had our follow up appointment with the Doctor, just a tiny touch of wheezing still. She doesn’t seem labored, but that explains why she’s still breathing quick some times. So we continue the breathing treatments till the weekend and then we start to taper them off. As long as she continues in the right direction there’s no need to come back. Phew.

Though I did forget to ask when she can be around kids again. Damn my memory sometimes.

Day 2 sickness

hlywdiana — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 13:12:00 +0000

Last night she was still breathing fast and retracting. Today she’s breathing fast and retracting. But it seems a little slower at times. Like one moment she’s good and then she starts breathing fast again.

She slept a little better. Was up a lot the first two hours. Then slept in like 2-3 hour increments. So better then the night before at least.

She’s definitely feeling better though. She’s running around like crazy and talking so much. She wasn’t talking much at all on Sunday or Monday, today she’s just gabbing away.

And she does so well with the nebulizer. I think because she knows how much it’s helping. I’m just glad she’s feeling like her normal self, even if this is something that will take a month to go away, as long as she’s acting normal I’m happy.

Now to work on her eating.

First Scary Sickness

hlywdiana — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 15:46:00 +0000

So it started with a runny nose, worked its way into a fever of 101.9, and progressed into labored breathing and me breaking down in tears.

Sunday around 12:30 Kahlan had a fever. I gave her Tylenol and she seemed good. She wanted food at dinner time, ate her mashed potatoes and then threw them up. Around 7:30pm her fever was back and she was breathing really quickly. Tylenol and a cool bath seemed to help the fever, and she slept until 12:30am. From then she cried horribly and was breathing horribly. I took her into the steamy bathroom and in just a few minutes she breathed better….until she threw up.

Her fever didn’t seem to be coming back but she was just breathing so hard. So brian came home and called the on call number. They said to watch for signs of distress but otherwise keep doing what we were doing and call the doc in the morning.

Around 5 she woke up crying and I couldn’t figure out what to do. Brian tried so hard to help but she only wanted me and I was reaching the point of exhaustion from barely sleeping the night before too. I just started crying. I didn’t know what to do, and I was tired, and I felt horrible because I felt that I should know what to do. And I was also wishing really hard that she could tell me what was hurting. This was the low point for me.

Around 7:30am she threw up again. I cleaned her off and took her downstairs where I noticed her retracting while breathing. And within a few minutes she visited again, this time I could see the color and it was yellow. All bile.

So after a consultation with my 24-7 nurse (aka grandma), I got her into the docs instead of rushing her to the ER, which I was on the verge of doing.

The doc listened to her lungs and said “oh my god”. I guess she was internally wheezing really badly (I’m thinking of investing in a stethascope. Lol). So she was given a breathing treatment, and afterwards the wheezing was lessened, but she was still retracting. So we waited a bit and gave another. The wheezing was gone but still retracting. So now we have our very own pink panda nebulizer so I can give her a treatment every 4 hours for the next two days. And also an oral steroid.

The doctor thinks it’s bronchiolitis. A virus that acts like asthma but isn’t asthma. So we go back weds for a checkup. She is currently asleep while I wait in line for her medications, and I need a nap. Lol

My poor baby.

Sign Language Is Amazing

hlywdiana — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 02:20:00 +0000

So while I was filling the tub for Kahlan’s bath, she came in the bathroom and motioned something and walked out, but I didn’t catch it. Then she walked back in and I saw her sign “help” and then walk back out. So I followed and asked what she needed help with. She walked over to her cube, pointed to her bracelet that was caught on it and signed “help” again. So I got it off and handed it to her. She smiled, signed “thank you” and walked away. I couldn’t help but smile.

Naps are the worst, and the best.

hlywdiana — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 19:32:00 +0000

So for the past few months Kahlan’s naps have been horrible. If she wasn’t in the car, she was not napping. I mean I had like a 50/50 chance she would nap like usual at home. But it always ended sooner then it used to, and she flipped everywhere.

I tried a change of location, aka our bedroom, in hopes of no toys and a place to lay down together. Still no napping. It was making me increasingly frustrated, and I just couldn’t believe she had reached the end of taking naps already.

Then this week I have had to come to terms with the fact that she will no longer nap on me. (Que the tears.) This past week at 3pm, a new schedule I’m going to try to keep when at home, we’ve gone to her room, nursed and put her in her crib. She whines a little, but goes out after a few lines from a song and naps for nearly 2 hours. I guess she just needed her own space to sleep. So that sucks.

At the same time I am finding it nice to get an hour or two a day to myself to clean or prep food without her climbing on me. And during daylight hours too! It makes me wonder, if I would have done this from the beginning, would it have made my PPD easier? And then I decide that I wouldn’t have given up the side by side naps for anything in the world.

18 month checkup!

hlywdiana — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 20:17:00 +0000

Whoohoo! We broke the 20lb mark!! That made me really happy as I’m always worrying about her weight, but she gained almost 2lbs in 3 months.

So here’s the stats:

Weight: 20lbs 5oz. (18%)

Height: 32.5in. (71%)

Head: 45.5cm (29%)

As for her talking, another thing I stress over, he said that if there is no big improvement in 3 months then we will probably need to get more aggressive. But right now the issue is usually there are tantrums, and with kids that aren’t talking it can get frustrating. Luckily we taught her sign language, and that isn’t a problem for us. So fingers crossed her language blossoms in the next 3 months.

18 months!

hlywdiana — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 01:37:00 +0000

So today Kahlan is 1 1/2. Wow.

She’s all about kissing and hugging anyone and everything. She’s getting her top molars in currently – they’re taking forever. She loves to ride her bike, swing and go down the slide. She’s currently learning noises animals make – so far she knows cow, dog, monkey and cat. She has started fake sleeping by Latin down anywhere and breathing loudly. She’s trying really hard to put her own shoes and pants on. She loves music and dances and is starting to try to sing. She loves coconut water and sprinkles and meatballs. She still loves cheese and peanut butter. She still likes to wear socks on her hands, be it her own or someone else’s. She especially likes wearing daddy’s socks on her feet. And she loves to climb everything.

Does a body good!

hlywdiana — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 13:41:00 +0000

So yesterday we were all laying in bed after waking Brian. Kahlan asked for milk, so we were cuddling. I knew she was getting close to done as she was popping off to give brian a hug and a kiss multiple times. So going with the flow. Next time though, she popped off, grabbed her toys and nursed them….on me. I look at her face and she’s looking at me just smiling away. It was freaking adorable!

4th of July

hlywdiana — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 00:02:00 +0000

Crap I just realized I didn’t post pictures from the fourth. I’m getting bad at blogging.

We went to the headland parade.

We went to the Virgilios for a picnic and fun.

Then we went and saw fireworks for the first time. And she loved them! She was still and enthralled for a few minutes and then couldn’t sit still and kept walking around and pointing at them.

Swinging!!!

hlywdiana — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 23:56:00 +0000

She’s so big it makes me happy and sad at the same time. First the main reason for this post:

http://youtu.be/bUBl4qI8uPQ

Swinging on her own. On a big swing. Granted it was hard plastic which I think helped her, but still. She’s growing up too fast!

Now for some picture spam.