Babysitting

We haven't used much of it since there was never a need for it. K has been under care of my parents or our neighbors who also have a little girl, so she was always well entertained, and Len and I never left her with anyone for too long.

Yesterday I had a meeting at one of the schools I'm working at, and they provided free child care. I was glad since it's good for K to interact with other kids (and by staying home with me, she doesn't get much of it), and I was actually able to attend the meeting.

When I dropped her off with the babysitter and two other kids, she was shy at first, but the babysitter did a good job involving her in some games, so I had a chance to sneak out. And while fighting the tears, I had to remind myself that K was going to have fun and would get a chance to play with others.

The whole meeting was a blur. I tried to focus as much as I could, but my thoughts kept going another direction. At one point one of the teachers had to leave and another one had to go with her to show her where the babysitter was. When the person came back, I tried to make eye contact to see if she saw Klaudia and if she was doing OK. But there was no eye contact, so I figured everything must have been fine. It was confirmed at the end of the meeting: "Kate when I went upstairs, Klaudia was playing so nicely. She is the only one in the group who doesn't talk, so she just smiles at everyone."

As soon as I could I said good bye to everyone and went to pick up my angel. I felt so proud... she didn't cause any trouble, she just smiled. As I walked with a big smile on my face, I could see the classroom where the babysitter stayed with the kids. I peeked through the window, and that's when my heart dropped. K was sitting on the babysitter's lap and was crying her eyes out. I could not open that door and get to her fast enough.  As I held her in my arms, I could feel how shaken she was.  I could feel her heart beat and her whole body calming down.  She stopped crying right when I picked her up, but she didn't leave my arms until we got to the car (it took 45 minutes since I had to make some copies and pick up some papers from the office).  The babysitter said that she simply started crying 5 minutes prior to my arrival, and that she must have been tired.  I on the other hand, just wanted to scream "What happened to my baby?" but instead held it together and with saying: "thank you for your help today" left the room.  (I ended up leaving my meeting stuff in the room and had to come back to pick it up; that's another reason why I didn't get to my car earlier).  

Any person watching the whole thing would say:  "Nothing happened, the baby was just crying for 5 minutes".  What I saw was an angel traumatized by being left alone for over 2 hours.  And even though I know we'll need to use babysitting services at one point, I know that I won't let it happen for a long time.  

Our Trip To Michigan

The day after my parents left for Poland, K, Len and I left for Michigan. We took a red eye. Our flight was at 12.30 (midnight). K slept at home until it was time to go to the airport. Here she is helping out with the luggage. (I forgot to take her birth certificate - the only ID document she has, but it turned out it wasn't needed. Noone asked us for any proof that K is our daughter! Isn't that interesting?)
We were a bit nervous about our first flight with K, but there was no need for it. She played with daddy for the first 30 minutes and slept for the rest of the flight. On the way home, it wasn't as smooth - K slept only for the first hour and then wanted to play. She was a trooper though considering the space limit and no toys (OK, I forgot those, too!).
Once at grandma and grandpa's, K was in heaven. Len's mom used to have a daycare not too long ago; she kept all the toys, which K was absolutely mesmerized by:
In the following two pictures, there are 5 generations captured. Klaudia and I are so lucky to be a part of such a 'rich' family (I never had a chance to meet my biological grandfathers; they had passed away years before I was born whereas K got to meet her great grandparents; how wonderful is that!)

From the right: Len, K, great grandpa Claude (Carter's great great grandpa),
aunt Claudel (Len's sister),
Mike (Claudel's son)
and little Carter (Mike's son, Claudel's grandson:)

Here she is (ready to run) with daddy, grandpa and great grandpa.

Finally, we got a chance to meet 3 new additions to our family. Here is Danielle (to the left), Mike's girlfriend:
Mike and Danielle's baby Carter:
And, little princess Bella - a daughter of Len's niece, Autumn:

Doesn't Len look good with babies?

Here are some more pics from our great vacation:

K obsessively playing with Danielle's cell phone.

Len and K's great grandma Lois.

K and uncle Jim playing knuckles.

Len, his dad with K and Len's nephew Parker.

K playing wii with cousin Chelsea (above) and auntie Claudel (below).

And, here is K chilling after an exhaustive game:

... and having fun rafting with daddy.

For two nights in a row, there were some serious storms with thunder and a lot of lightning at the lake where we all were staying. One night the lightning hit a tree next door, and although it didn't catch on fire, it exploded:
We had a wonderful time in MI (to those who know what I'm talking about: I'm trying to erase the spiders from my memory). We hope to see everyone soon - maybe in CA next time? Thank you to all for making our trip so memorable!

My Parents' Final Days in CA

Watching TV with grandpa:
First time bowling:
First the lecture (let me just add here that my parents beat me big time! I guess I did a good job training them):
Then this:


and this:

Milk Issues

Klaudia has stopped drinking cow's milk. It started right before my parents left. She had loved her milk and had taken every opportunity to drink it as many times a day as we were willing to give it to her (we did have to limit it to 16 oz per day since she refused to eat solids).
I called K's pediatrician and learned that it's pretty common at this age. Kids become very picky about what they eat or drink and can quit their favorite foods cold turkey. She said not to worry but make sure she eats things with calcium. Thank goodness K likes cottage cheese and yogurt.

Potty Training

We bought two little potties for Klaudia a few months ago but never showed her how to use them. There was either no time, no interest from K or no motivation on our part. But we've been thinking about potty training for weeks now, and we've decided to do it after coming back from Michigan.

So, for the first time today, I stripped K down right after her nap, sat her on the potty and turned on the TV. She was glued to the cartoons instantly. After a minute or so, she wanted to get up, so I helped her, and she started peeing on a carpet. I quickly put her on her potty hoping she would finish there, but it must have scared her because nothing was coming out. After a couple of minutes, I heard some action though, and... there was a poop in her potty! A minute later, K covered it with pee. I know it's gross, but Len and I are so proud!

The funniest thing was when K got up and noticed what she produced. I tried to be as excited as I could, but she didn't like what she saw. She looked scared and wanted to be held by daddy while watching me clean the potty.

Home Alone

My parents have just left. They went back to Poland but hopefully will be back again soon. Tomorrow Len, K and I are leaving for Michigan to visit our family there. We have mixed emotions: we're sad because of my parents' departure and very excited to see everyone in MI.

Pics and stories from my parents' stay will be posted as soon as we're back.