Mmmm mmm good

I just love the way Kaylin experiences the world with her mouth. Her first reaction to any object that makes its way into her hands is to immediately shove it into her gob. When you think about it, it's a bit unsanitary really. But hey, God made dirt so dirt won't hurt.

Most recently, our brilliant daughter has discovered that if she pulls hard enough, her left foot will in fact reach her mouth. How awesome is that? Not only do her wiggly toes give her tender teething gums a gentle massage but she gives herself a mini foot rub at the same time. Toes....yummmm.

Here are a few other items that Kaylin has, at one time or another, gnawed on:

• Every toy that she's come into contact with (hers and other babies')
  
• My hair
• The remote control
• Clean diapers
• My glasses
• Our fingers
• The telephone
• Our faces
• My knee
• Her own socks
• My nose
• Kleenex
• My foot
  
• A drinking glass
• Washcloths
• My elbow
  
• A package of caramel-flavoured Vodka mudshots*

Aw Kaylin, you make your parents so proud!


*Note - no mudshots were ever consumed, please don't contact Children's Aid

Kaylin speaks out!

Big news! Kaylin has spoken out! In a rare move, Kaylin made sweeping statements about how much Canada will change, and not for the better, if Stephen Harper's Conservatives are voted into power on Monday.

OK, that's not true. Kaylin didn't speak out....but she did speak! Kaylin said her first word yesterday - "dada". She might not know what it means just yet, but just hearing her say those two syllables is so amazing and hilarious.

Happy birthday baby

Happy Birthday my sweet baby. You are five months old today!

I can hardly believe it - just yesterday I was rubbing my round belly dreaming of what you would be like. And now here you are, and as amazing as can be. In only five short months, you've become such a little person.

Five months ago you couldn't even hold your own noggin up to see what was happening in front of you. And now you are interested in and exploring this new world around you, grabbing everything and anything you can get your little hands on - particularly your own wiggly toes.

Five months ago you could only communicate through the most heart breaking newborn cries. And now you are giggling, babbling, whining, groaning, whispering, gasping, and squealing with delight.

Five months ago I wasn't sure when I would feel that special bond that other mothers always talked about. And now your face lights up when I enter the room and my heart sings whenever I see your gorgeous face. We are bonded.

Happy birthday my love-a-dove. I cannot wait to discover what your future holds (but please just don't grow up so fast).

Love, mommy

Boldest pig in the land

It was seven months ago this week that we lost our dear piggy Tuppenny. I know most of you are thinking, "how can she get sentimental over a rodent?"

True, most rodent pets, like hamsters and gerbils, rank pretty low on the interactive-pet scale. You can't really bond with a gerbil.* But GPs are actually very affectionate, social creatures with amazing personalities. Especially Tuppenny.

Tuppenny's favourite thing to do was stretch out on my lap while I stroked her soft,white fur. She was very much like a cat that way. She truly enjoyed human company.

She had a mind of her own. We called her the "bold pig". If, while she was out on the floor, something got in her way, she would position her shoulder up against it and shove it out of her way. If she heard you rummaging in the fridge, she would let out the loudest wheeeek as if to say, "hey, while you're in there, grab me some lettuce!".

Tuppenny was our little medical miracle. In 2002 she was diagnosed with ovarian cysts. After her surgery, the vet told us the cysts she removed were the largest she had ever seen in a GP. Two years later she was suddenly frightened and pulled out one of her own little toes that had been hanging on to one of her cage bars. An hour later you wouldn't have even known she was injured. She was tough as nails!

This past June, her cysts returned. At almost six years, Tupp was just too old to operate on. With heavy hearts, we said good bye to our little furry friend.

Farewell little one. We still miss you.


* If you have ever bonded with a gerbil, I apologize for my sweeping remark.

An open letter to the baby sock people

Dear people who make baby socks,

Are you kidding me? Do you people actually sleep at night knowing that the little pink socks you manufacture each day never really serve their purpose? How can you look in the mirror when you know full well that the tiny toe covers you produce never really stay on said toes?

On behalf of all mothers everywhere, let me say that I am quite disappointed in all of you. Baby socks do not stay on!

You should be paying me to be searching the floor every half hour for those little tubes of stretchy cotton! I should send you an invoice for all the time I spend putting those socks back on my baby's adorable feet. And what about all the time I waste smooching those little exposed piggly-wigglies when your stinky socks fall off? You owe me big time!

I hope that this letter makes you stop and think about yourselves and the injustice you create in this world on a daily basis. You should be ashamed.

Yours truly,

Charlene

PS - And why do newborn socks have treads on them? Where exactly is my baby going in those treads that I don't know about?

I do not!

The strangest thing happened last night.

It was 4am and Kaylin was kicking her toes for her usual mid-night feeding. This is also the feeding that I normally change her "weighs 10 lbs by now" diaper. However, I needed to "change my diaper" first, if you know what I'm saying. So I gave her the pacifier...well, to pacify her while I ran to the washroom.

Next we were off to the change table, where Kaylin sleepily continued sucking the soother while I peeled back layers of Grobag and sleeper. Much to my chagrin, her sleeper was damp, signalling a leek...no, not a leek, a leak. (I can't seem to spell anymore. Don't tell my boss.) After I stared at Kaylin for a few moments pondering, "would she go back to sleep in a damp sleeper?", I made the more motherly decision to put her into something dry.

Keep in mind, it's 4am and I'm really not awake. I clumsily picked Kaylin up and took her Grobag (sleeping bag) off, then put her back down. Next I took her damp sleeper off and picker up her again so I could remove the offending clothing, then put her back down. Finally, her undershirt had also been slightly soiled, so I stripped that one off. I scooped Kaylin up one more time so I could lay a dry (and awfully cute pink striped) sleeper under her. Poor thing had been jostled around like a rag doll. And that's when it happened.

As I put her back down, she rolled towards me, put her two hands on my left arm, looked me in the eye and said through her soother, "you suck." At least that's what it sounded like.

To which I nodded my head and responded, "yes, I am aware."

Blah blah blahs

It's a typical Canadian January day...cold and wet. Blah. My energy level peaked at about 9:30am and all I want to do now is dive back into that giant tin of chocolate cookies that were left on my counter by Satan himself. Kaylin is snoozing and I'm going around in circles trying to figure out how this whole Blog thing works. When did I become so technologically inept? I've become that 30-something who needs a 12 year old kid to show her how to program her VCR. When did that happen? And why would I still use a VCR?

I suppose I could ask my husband Brian for some help. He is, after all, a web designer by trade. Check out his site - Chronicology. But I want to figure this out for myself. Using the few brain cells I have left after giving birth, I'm going to get this thing up and running. Wish me luck.

Me me me

Odd, but for someone who hates talking about themselves, I have this overwhelming urge to start up my own Blog. Me me me ... it's all about me. This may have something to do with the fact that I currently spend my days babbling to an infant. My infant, that is. (Not just any random infant off the street or anything.)

As fun as that sounds, it's not too stimulating. Most of my conversations go something like this -- "Hi sweetie pie! Who's my sweetie pie? Are you my sweetie pie? Yes, yes you are my sweetie pie!" I've also been known to utter such phrases as "have you pooped yet?", "is that your nose?", and the ever-popular "I'm going to eat your toes!". All this from a communications professional. Oy.

"I'm going to eat your toes!"

Allow me to introduce myself. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Charlene and the aforementioned infant is my raison d'etre Kaylin. She was born in August of 2005. And, as you might have guessed, I love her toes. I think I love them even more than chocolate. Probably even more than chocolate ice cream, which, if you know me, is a staggering amount.

In between diaper changes and toe smooching, I'll be popping by to blab and blog about life in general and Kaylin in particular. It's my way of staying connected with the WBK (World Beyond Kaylin). Hope to see you there!