Going Private

We're thinking about making our blog private for invited readers only (in a few weeks, once I have time to find out how to do it).  Please let us know if you'd like to be a part of it.  Maybe it's because of all those things happening in the world, but suddenly we become less and less comfortable posting details about our bug knowing that everyone in the world may have access to them.  

Call us, email us or simply post a comment, and we'll be more than happy to add you to our readers' list.  

Mommy!

First it was Ma, then Mama, and now it's Mommy.  I LOVE IT.

Crawling

Klaudia has just figured out how to crawl. And as a little perfectionist as she is, she takes every opportunity to practice her new skill.

She likes spacious places like our hallway, any mall or C.ostco. And we never know when she is going to start practicing. She simply drops on her fours and starts crawling. Stopping her by picking her up or explaining stimulates major meltdowns which we yet have to learn how to handle. Until that happens, we'll let her practice her new skill wishing she could do it at home where the floor is much much cleaner.

Pneumonia Update

It's gone. It came suddenly at the end of June; I was down and off from work for two weeks - the longest time off I'd ever taken, but I had never been that sick before. After returning to work, it took weeks to get my energy back, and this week is the first week since my illness that I'm not coughing (more than two months after the actual disease!).

Pneumonia is a lung disease, but it effects the whole body. Sometimes it may take up to a year to get the strength back. I was very lucky to have my parents here and was able to stay in bed during the hardest time and then take naps every day for weeks after I returned to work.

And speaking of feeling better, maybe it's because of those naps I was able to take, and the fact that K sleeps through the night and for 12-14 hours straight, I have to say that I'm feeling awesome!

She is Back!

When my parents were still here, Klaudia had a no-eating period. She was fine with just a teaspoon of food for the entire day. Our pediatrician wasn't concerned explaining that toddlers may do such things for up to a week. K did this for 5 weeks straight. She never lost weight but didn't gain any either. She drank a lot though: water, juice, and milk (that was before she quit drinking milk). And from time to time she ate some fruit, but that was it.

I am happy to announce that she is back! Although she still doesn't like her milk, she is a much better eater. And as weird as it sounds, she loves jarred baby food. She is very picky about what's on her plate but at least she eats something.

K's favorite foods nowadays:

• yogurt
• mac and cheese
• spaghetti with tomato sauce
• baby food
• any fruit
• snacks: jello, cheez-its, cheerios, apple sauce
  

Fellow mamas, I'm open to any new ideas. I'm willing to try anything to add some more favorites to the list. What is it that your angels like to eat?

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!