Karissa Turns 1

Unbelievable. It's hard to say the time flew by. Kathy and I agree that some segments flew by, some inched by at a snail's pace, in the first year of Karissa Reese Fletcher.
It was slow out of the gate. We both vividly remember her first days and weeks - born out of the chute with a sniffle, then came the surprise stay at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth with a urinary tract infection. Her first month seemed like two.
Then we went forward. She has been a great sleeper - and her parents couldn't be more thankful. Not a great napper, but when the sun goes down she's ready to dream and snooze the night away.
It's hard not compare her with Kole, strictly as a personal parental experience. There's really no fun in them being the same or almost the same, but comparing and contrasting their similarities and differences is a fascinating thing. When an infant has no conscious ability to choose one way or another, the DNA takes over and puts one on a vastly different path than the last.
It's hard to chart 12 months of progress, but here are some things we know to be true here at the 1-year mark:
*Her life has not been reported, in detail, on this blog. Sad to say, there is a large Been-There, Done-That factor with her, whereas with Kole everything was breaking news that needed reporting. I think it's a compliment to Karissa. Her parents are living in the moment more now than we did with her brother, where issues were Googled and researched and talked about and debated and blogged about. Now, with her, life happens and we deal with it and we keep moving on. Obviously, I should better manage my time to write things down. But, the simple fact is, it's harder to write about the exploits of a 1-year-old now because now there is a 3-year-old who needs time and energy focused on him. Free time isn't what it was three years ago.
*One bold prediction: Karissa will be tough as nails. Especially in the past six months, her doting brother plays with her the way a cat plays with a maimed mouse. Problem is, she laughs 70% of the time. She blissfully doesn't know better until at some point Kole gets too rough and then she cries - briefly. Otherwise, she takes a rugged wrestling match with her brother a few times a day.
*She crawls with surprising speed and is now taking her first steps. She is topping out at about 5 or 6 steps at a time before her beefy legs give way. Sometimes, she'll just stop while standing upright and take a slow, leisurely squat into a sitting position, as if sinking in quicksand.
*She will now mock Patty-Cake, clapping and rolling her hands then throwing them in the air - often without prompting. That's the best. When she just sits there minding her own business and you suddenly notice her clap her hands, roll them up, then throw them in the air.
*Where behind her brother in physical milestones like crawling and walking, we are finding that she is very intellectually aware much earlier than Kole, especially with TV. To this day, Kole has an extremely short attention span with TV. He knows who all the major players are - Barney, Elmo, Chicka from the Sprout network - but after 5-10 minutes he becomes bored and moves on to other things. We've convinced ourselves that's a good thing, that he needs other stimulation that TV can't provide. Karissa, however, for several months now, can be captivated by video. She can watch for several minutes at a time. With a 58-inch HD wide-screen, she has plenty to take in and it's fascinating to watch her eyes dart around the screen, taking it all in. Sometimes it's to a fault. At breakfast she sometimes gets so distracted by the TV that we have to turn it off so she'll eat. Otherwise she'll just bob her head around any obstruction and keep watching. We're telling ourselves that she is much quicker to be engaged and interested in video, and that's a good thing.
*She smiles more than she cries, her babble and gargle has a sweetness that resonates into a melody that plays in my head all day, and she is quite the cuddler when she is exhausted.
*She gets hand-me-downs left and right; both in color-neutral sleeping jammies and with toys and books and stuffed animals. And she's taking it all in stride and is the happiest baby she could be.
*She shares almost everything with her big brother, including many of the toys she does get first-hand, but has little say in how infrequent said brother has access to those toys. She now even shares a bath with her brother. The way we figure it, Kole had a couple of years of independence and it didn't do him any favors, so - the heck with it - the girl better get used to sharing. Here in a few years there will be more need and urgency for privacy from Kole.

The next few milestones will come fast and frantic: walking, talking, teeth and eating habits. We'll look forward to other things drawing her attention, like books and games. As it is, the thing that most easily draws her attention is a green lit power button on our cable box. She gets drawn to it like a moth to a light bulb, and there she'll stand turning the TV on and off and on and off.

We'll be ready for anything. The first year had many surprises and, to the detriment of the blog, we mostly had a great time just soaking it in and living it. And where I regret not having chronicled many events, even the more comical and mundane day-to-day things, most of the significant milestones have been photographed or videoed and just not posted. It's kind of like getting your second new car. The first one you drive around to show off to all your friends and the people who you want to make jealous. Then, the second one, you just more quietly and modestly appreciate, and spend more time cleaning and buffing it in the garage than showing it off around town.

Somewhere in the next few months, once the milestone is behind us when we never really knew that it passed, Karissa will be a toddler and we will never be the parents of an itty-bitty little baby again. That bums us out, but now we are more poised to know how to appreciate these coming days ahead. I may not be rushing the photos or the stories over to the computer and the blog, but know that we are devouring the moment and savoring every morsel.

The 6th Anniversary

We celebrated our 6th year together this past Friday and did so by ditching the kids and skipping out of town. Grammy (my mom) came over and stayed for the weekend so Kathy and I headed out to Austin.

Once again, this was a budget vacation. Last year was Vegas in comped rooms with free flights from my step sister. This year we drove and stayed in a Marriott chain where I used my Reward points. I'm sitting on over 100,000 of those points and showed Kathy the 4-star properties they had for 20,000 points a night - she settled on the Renaissance in Austin's Arboretum. Once the reservation was made, I brown-nosed one of the reservation managers - I name-dropped, I threw around the Fox Sports title, I big-timed her with everything I had. I told her she could have the balance of my remaining Reward points - I just wanted an upgrade to the Presidential Suite. It was essentially a 1,500 square foot apartment. But, I had to settle for a king suite upgrade - no charge, no points. Awesome!

We drove down Friday by noon - taking Kathy to lunch at one of my old favorite Waco haunts, Buzzard Billy's on the Brazos River. We got to Austin by 2:30, checked into our room and indeed it was a corner-pocket suite on the 8th floor with great views of the city, and far more room than we needed. We had only been in the room a half-hour when a knock at the door came. Room service.

Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, and a thoughtful letter from my hotel email buddy congratulating us on our anniversary. Now, I need chocolate covered strawberries like I need a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts covered with bacon buttercream icing. And to me, champagne is almost like that V8 tomato drink - it's not that I despise it so much that I'll refuse to drink it, but I can think of 88 things I'd rather drink before I settle on that. But, when it's free, and just enough for two glasses - bring it on. It was a great start to the weekend.

We went on to go out for a pre-dinner cocktail then had a phenomenal meal at Chez Zee (French pronunciation, shay-ZEE). I made an online reservation and it had an area for "any additional comments or requests" and I mentioned that it was our anniversary - so, we got one more pat on the back upon arriving ...

The food was incredible, the dessert was something to shed a tear over, but really this was a night to have to our own. No dinner to have to rush through in order to pick up the kids from someone watching them, or relieve a sitter at home. The night had a full tank of gas and could go as long as the road allowed. We had a great time being together, both talking and sitting in comfortable silence. Yes, we naturally wondered what was going on with the kids, we talked about them, we talked in our mock Kole voice - repeating everything over and over like a broken record, getting his tenses all wrong (if he wants his shoes on he'll say "Put your shoes on" to you, since that's what he hears us say to him). There was another baby a few tables from us, and it had Kathy's eye for several minutes. But, it was a really nice evening together - what one should have been. Back at the hotel, we even took a good soak in the hot tub. We were chatted up by, of all people, a 13 and 16 year old from Flower Mound. But, even that was entertaining. It was almost like a pop quiz on our lives after six years together. I think the question that stood out the most was being asked "So - do you guys like to party?" I forget which one of us answered, but the answer was - it's Friday night in Austin and we're here in a hot tub with you guys, not on 6th Street. What do you think?

I do like to party, but I also like having a night with my lady that doesn't involve fighting for parking spots, fighting crowds for a drink, walking the streets when the temperature is still in the high 90s well past 10pm, then nursing a headache the next morning. I'll pass, thank you. There's something to be said for just laying low and squeezing my lady close.

The next day we did some obligatory sight seeing at the state capitol, where the squirrels are about as visitor friendly as a petting zoo goat.

We also went to the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas, attached next to the LBJ Library. We tried to get to the bottom of whether Kathy's family is connected to Alamo war hero and former Republic of Texas president, Ed Burleson. Kathy's grandmother was born Ora Jane Burleson, and the connection had never been officially documented. So, we poked around to see what we could find. Currently, we know enough about Ed the Alamo guy to work with, now we really just need more info on Kathy's family from her mother's Burleson side.

We eventually ended up taking a road trip west near Marble Falls, actually a little town called Spicewood, home of Flat Creek Winery & Vinyard. We took a wine profiling class to learn why we like or don't like certain wines. Then, at the same place, they served a big dinner from a well-known chef with wine pairings.
The wine profiling class wasn't everything we thought it would be - not that we had a lot of preconceived notions - but it was still interesting. An expert French wine maker was in town, apparently friends with the owner of Flat Creek, and it was obvious that the man was an encyclopedia of knowledge. He actually has a degree in wine making from Universite' Dijon in France. Unfortunately, English was a distant second language and not everything he said was clear. His wife picked up where he couldn't fill in. We learned many things about the profile of wine. I don't think we're more of a wine snob, but - for example - if a friend had a glass of wine and told us what they do and don't like about it, I fell confident I could go out and find a wine that would fit their preference profile, using five key markers: Color, hints/hues, intensity of the nose, vivacity of taste (dry to sweet) and alcohol sensation on the palate (light to hot). We tasted 7 different wines. The room that started out stale and stiff ended up being loose and giggly when it was all done. Everyone at least had a good time. It was impressive watching a French wine master at work - watching how he sips wine and slurps and gargles it. How he stands, pensive and focused, one hand in a pocket and the other continuing to swirl the wine in the glass - scowling at it held up to sunlight while his mouth attempts to break it down and analyze its contents down to the molecule. It felt good to connect with his tastebuds, say if we were to determine whether the Syrah had a vivacity that was Fresh/Dry/Lively, or Round, or Mellow, or Sweet - as if they're all on a linear scale of 1 to 10. I thought it was fresh and dry (actually, my favorite of the Flat Creek line) and it was quite rewarding to have the master back it up, informing the class that it was indeed dry and fresh.
Then came the wine-paired dinner. Great time with great people at our table. The chef came out before each course to explain it - looking sharp in the white chef's coat, smiling and making wise-cracks, going along like a game show host, while it's obvious that he's short of breath and his brow wiped of sweat just before heading out. It's a cool act knowing what sort of chaos he's controlling behind the scenes. The food was really incredible and the wine was great. Our table had a 50-ish married couple, then a 50-ish non-married couple along with their friend who is coming off a big break-up. The only one with kids was the woman coming off the big break-up - her kids are 30 and 27. So, we kind of felt like the kids sitting at the adult table. Moreover, it's wierd to sit with a table full of adults and not talk about our kids. It just never came up. One of the guys was a vice president of a company and he was obviously doing well. Another guy was the County Commissioner of Angelina County (where Lufkin is), his name is Scott Cooper. Before being elected into public office he was a cameraman for 18 years at KTRE-TV in Lufkin-Nacogdoches, Channel 9, which I remember well from my days at Stephen F. Austin St. University. So, it was cool having a connection with someone and it's not like we talked shop to a point where I could have got sick of it.

It was a cool night. A great date night - again, without the catch of having to watch the clock and worry about the kids. It was a cool way to cap off the weekend. Well after dinner, there were only two tables remaining - the one with the owners and their guests from France and a few other personal friends - then our table. The guy who was the VP bought another bottle of wine for us to share as a night cap for a few more laughs.

We got home to a good report card from my mom on the kids. They were angels, apparently, and it was great seeing them. It was good being away and it was really good to miss Kole and Karissa. It was good spending 60 consecutive hours together with Kathy uninterrupted by anything or anyone we didn't want. Mission accomplished.

Funny is Funny

Don't think that Karissa, in all her innocence at 10 months of age, somehow learned this from her father. One day, actually more than a couple of weeks ago. Then, her brother was all too happy to join in. The video speaks for itself.

First Bath Together

Some things don't need a whole lot of descriptive dialogue. This is one of those. The video speaks for itself. Karissa is about to the point where she's outgrown a bath in the kitchen sink, and as it turns out - she loves the water just as much as her brother.



... And The Shiner
You may or may not be able to notice in the video a new shiner on Kole's eye. If not, I'll put the accompanying photo. On Monday, Kole got a little too frisky, which he is prone to do, and fell running for the back door - falling face-first into our Plantation shutters we have there. I'll go ahead and add one additional photo - the shutter that was also on the losing end of Kole's fall. He gave a good, hearty, full-throated cry, but it wasn't long before he was back up and shaking it off. A nice blue egg began quickly forming on the side of his eye. Another one of those It could have been worse scenarios, so we feel fortunate that this was the extent of the damage.

Stand For Something

This is it. This is the actual moment. Today at 1:55 pm, Karissa made her first successful solo stand upright. She's been grabbing onto things and getting up on her knees for a couple of weeks now. But today, after church, as Kat and I were essentially minding our own business knowing that she was in a little safe play area in the back of our living room, we first noticed her taking the assumed position with hands on the toy box. Without watching every moment, we turned our attention elsewhere. A few moments later we check on her and - boom - there she was, standing up.
Her first official pull-up comes at the age of 9 months, 18 days.
Kole's first pull-up was at 8 months, 24 days.
But, Karissa pulled another milestone of sorts - two on the same day. She's now cutting two more teeth. The two teeth on either side of her bottom two front teeth began poking through today. It's more than a relief to see, since Karissa has been going through some fairly uncharacteristic stuff the past week or two. One day she barely ate a thing, barely taking 10 ounces of formula through the day - though she does now also eat some solids, cereal, etc.
Still, an exciting twist to a pretty average day.

Taking a Stand and a Major Scare

Karissa is very close to pulling herself up on her own. If given a hand up on something to balance her weight, she normally can hold herself up for close to a minute before her little legs get wobbly and give way.
She now crawls with great ease, but it may not be what you'd call a true crawl on hands and knees. Her method is to outstretch her right arm, then with her grounded forearm as an anchor thrust herself forward. Her left arm is really a maimed flipper in this process, providing more balance than anything.
We have her first official crawl on video. I'm waiting to get her progression on tape in different intervals, then post it once she's really scooting along, to show the true evolution of her crawl.
Last night, Sunday, July 3, was an event I'll never forget. A bold statement, I know, as many episodes of the kids tend to disappear before too long. But not last night.
Kathy was putting Kole to bed and I was standing Karissa on my lap, which she loves to do. She loves being upright. I had had here there for more than 10 minutes, and had spent some good time with her doing that as we watched "True Grit" last night. But as Kathy was reading Kole a story in bed, I put Karissa down to wander around for a little bit and maybe tire out so she can take her last bottle and go to bed herself.
I heard her cough and looked down just quick enough to see that her face was red. Her mouth was open and she appeared as if she wanted to cough again but couldn't. I reached over quickly and grabbed her and put her on my lap. She provided a quick hack but her face was still beet red and a tear was rolling down a cheek. I put a finger in her mouth and swabbed across and made a sweep back and forth and felt nothing. Her face was still red and she didn't appear to be breathing.
I've had time to think about this. I keep rewinding my brain DVR over and over, replaying and pausing the events. I've had time to digest the entirety of the event, which will obviously have a happy ending. But at that moment, after swiping a finger through Karissa's mouth and finding nothing foreign, and still seeing her red and breathless - it was the most frightened, scared for my life, and freaked out I have ever been. Ever.
I am 40 years old and to my knowledge I have never broken a bone in my body. The few car bang-ups I've been a part of have never produced one drop of blood. I had a knife pulled on me as a threat, but from a distance. I had Malaria when I was 11 years old, but I was medically ignorant and did not know any significance of what was going on. I had chills and fever but never knew to be scared for my life. In hindsight, my life was never in danger.

And in a couple of eye-blink moments of Sunday I did fear for my life. Not just Karissa's life - she is my life, and I was worried stiff. So stiff - I choked, the metaphoric way. Something I didn't think I was capable of. If given the chance to strum the strings of my ego and play a song, it would include 20 years worth of making quick, decisive decisions, acting mostly on instinct and careful preparation and rough-sketched anticipation with accuracy that ranks in the narrow, front slopes of the bell curve. Making television production of sports look easy; spontaneous and unpredictable moments seem as if they were following a script, a camera always in the right place, pointing the right way.
But with the red-faced Karissa on my lap and after ruling out an impediment in her mouth, I freaked out. I swear I would have forgotten the number to call 911. Completely caught off guard and allowing Panic to knock over all the cool emotion characters in the room of my brain, I did the only sensible thing a person does with Panic at the helm of the ship. I screamed like a mental patient for Kathy. If I had kept my cool, I would have called for her in a raised voice - she was in another room on the other end of the house - but without fear in my voice that could get Kole concerned or freaked out.
No dice. I forget precisely what I said but I shouted for Kathy twice to come here NOW! Not a raised voice, but a shout dripping with panic.
Kathy appeared in the living room almost instantly. I had Karissa holding her like a football, my left hand holding up her chest as she was leaning over facing the floor - figuring that something could be jarred free from her throat or mouth and fall out. I gave some firm pats on the back, and I say pats because that's all I meant them to be. If there were a surveillance camera where I could truly rewind the DVR, I'm sure any reasonable person would not describe it as a "pat", but more of a pounding.
My heart was beating out of my chest as I handed her to Kathy - for no real reason except that maybe she had a better idea than me of what to do.
Kathy took Karissa and by the time she was seated I could see that Karissa was obviously breathing - maybe she had been while I had her and couldn't see to tell - she was moving her mouth, she was swallowing, she was crying. There were at least 20 more seconds of tension to see what might be the issue. Just a couple of days previous, Karissa quite casually spit up, if not a full vomit, and there was some sort of piece of paper in it. She didn't seem at all upset by it, but it was a lot of spit-up/vomit that got all over her. It was a convenient lesson that there are small innocuous things all over the floor that she may put in her mouth.
This episode, in the end, produced absolutely nothing ... besides two extremely nervous parents and a heart rate for the father that is close to getting back to normal. We watched her carefully for the next few minutes, but it appeared to be nothing. She either swallowed whatever had been an obstruction, or perhaps she just gagged on her own saliva or another toy. All she had around her before this started was a big stuffed animal. There were no other little toys or Legos or anything around. I can't think of what it could have been. But, however it happened, it passed. Karissa's color turned normal. Kathy eventually allowed herself to cool off.
What do I say now - False alarm?
It didn't feel like it. That was Level 10 panic. It's disappointing I didn't pass it like I would have liked to. But it's a relief that it wasn't anything beyond a really big scare.

3 Years / 9 Months

Kole and Karissa had a joint doctor's appointment yesterday. It was Kole's 3-year check-up and Karissa's 9-month. Here's the stats:
Kole
Weight: 34 pounds (75%)
Height: 39.5 inches (90%) this was his very first vertical measurement. All others had been done laying down, head to heal.
Karissa
Weight: 18 pounds, 12 ounces (85%)
Length: 28.75 inches (50%)
Head: 43.5 cm (30%)

Obviously, Kole is still ahead of the game on the growth chart, in comparison with other boys his same age in the US. Karissa is pretty much average, though she's slightly on the full-figured side. Her head measures 43.5 centimeters around, which puts her in the 30% range - meaning 70% of US girls her same age have a larger head.

This is the result of her misshapen head that we got the helmet to help correct. That experiment is now over. A day before her 9-month check-up, Karissa had her final visit with Cranial Technologies where final castings and pictures were taken. The first shot really isn't to show much of her head shape changing, but to show how much SHE changed in such a short time. Such a noticeable addition of darker hair. And she's able to hold her head up a little better than she did when she was just a 6-month old. They had to wet her hair down to better show the shape of the skull, so her little fluffy chick feathers aren't prominent here.
The most telling shot of how her head changed the most is the bird's-eye shot - but really, the picture doesn't do the change justice. It's more of a thing you had to see for yourself to really know the difference. Photos are limited to just one dimension, but if you really had a good study of the top of Karissa's head before and after, the difference is pretty significant.

As noted above, her head circumference is 43.5 centimeters, which is on the smaller side for her age. But as she grows older her head will fill out - as will her hair, and no one will know a lick of difference anyways.
What's more important is that she's totally, 100% healthy and happy. She makes little teepees on her hands and feet - not quite crawling, and not quite standing up, but she definitely wants to be upright even if it's only her butt sticking up in the air. She has event shown the ability to grab hold of the coffee table or a chair leg or crib rail and attempt to pull herself up.
She is slowly getting more gabby, and her front four teeth shine when she giggles. She cuddles. She sees you from across the room and smiles and flaps her arms. She was such an unexpected surprise, I guess it was 18 months ago when we were first clued in to her arrival, but she is such an integral and special part of our lives. Kole is the squeaky wheel that gets the majority of the grease. He is 3 and needs attention and engaging most of the time. And then there's the little princess, quietly nibbling on a toy, disinterested in the chaos her brother is stirring up, waiting to lock eyes and acknowledge that she is content.
She is a joy to be around.

Another Birthday Wish

Yeah, Daddy has some contacts here and there. Big thanks to the guys at GoodDay, the morning show on Fox 4 for squeezing us in on very short notice.Needless to say - Kole was impressed. He kept asking his Mommy to watch it over and over.

Three Years Old

Three years after blessing us with a miracle after a bloodshot-eyed all-nighter of a birth (born at 2:46am, after arriving at the hospital at 7:30am the previous morning), there he is putting his own clothes on, going potty with no prompting by his parents, and being able to clearly discuss his feat, and request his prizes for producing the particular leavings.
He walks in with sandals on his feet, which he has put on himself (velcro straps). But even when the shoes are on the wrong feet, one of us instinctively says "oops - you put them on the wrong feet, you need to switch them around", which is our version of thinking out loud just before going up to do the parental task ourselves; but he beats us to the punch and sits on the floor and starts taking the shoes off, swapping them and putting them back on the proper feet. It takes a few minutes to register - He knew exactly what we said and what we were talking about. This is hardly routine, or something we practice talking about. He just ... knew.
And that's where we're at as he turns three years old. Every day, seemingly, Did we teach him that? Where did he learn that? Did you see that - how he actually furled a brow and went "hmmmm" to think about what he wanted before he spoke? Too many examples to count and cite. As we watch his little sister take on solid foods and begin crawling, we can't help but look at Kole and wonder, wasn't it just a few weeks a go we were going through this with him?
Maybe that's the creepiest part. With Karissa around so young, we still have around so many of the things that Kole once used, reminding us of his younger days.
Speaking of Karissa, we're starting to learn some differences between one child and another. Where Karissa speaks and ooohs and aahhs when it's absolutely necessary, her big brother was a carnival of sounds and yells by the same age. By the way he's turned out, we think and hope that Karissa will turn out to be on the quiet side.
No matter where we go, some stranger remarks at how cute he is in a way that normally carries some level of amazement or raised voice that seems genuine and sincere, not just a courtesy conversational ice-breaker. Most complimented: his big, deep brown eyes, his thick and silky hair, and a shy smile that can melt the heart of an ax murderer. We don't need to hear from anyone else to believe it, but it's gratifying to hear.

His vocabulary is very developed and he is putting more and more complete thoughts and sentences together. He is becoming more independent, and that includes treating his Timeout corner like a cop treats a cozy counter stool in a doughnut shop. It's not quite punishment, but he does have a very good idea of what is good behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. He's normally very good, but sometimes he's a handful for Kathy in the middle of the day. That's unfortunate, and I hope it's just a Terrible Two phase he quickly shakes off.
He even knows our real names now, and will often identify pictures by pointing to us as Keith and Kathy. That's strange. He does that with a generous giggle each time.
He is helpful, and wants to help, and he is very polite. He says "thank you" without prompting and is getting better with "please". He plays well with other kids, but occasionally we've got reports from his school that he has hit a classmate, or maybe taken a swat that wasn't necessarily mean-spirited. He'll sometimes do the same with Karissa, play a little more rough than we'd like. He hasn't been exposed to violent movies or video games, or Marilyn Manson music, or Tea Party websites that use crosshairs as markers. We'd like to blame it on something, but can't seem to nail down to anything besides maybe mockery of kids roughhousing he sees on playgrounds. Maybe it's just good ole Alpha caveman DNA combined with Terrible Twos.

He loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and on occasion, has devoured two whole sandwiches in a sitting. His favorite is probably mac-n-cheese, as he can look like a 4th of July hot dog eating contestant when a bowl of it is set in front of him, barely coming up for a breath between bites. However, if he has a big blob of ketchup for dipping, he'll likely eat chicken fried muskrat or his own shoestrings. He likes his morning cereal and loves picking his favorite color of bowl - normally orange. We don't know if orange is officially his favorite color right now, or if he just loves saying the word ("oh-WEENJ"). He loves apple juice and playing outside no matter how hot it is. He loves climbing on things. If it's as tall as he is and he can get a good grip on it, he'll be on top of it in no time.

Today, the day of his birthday itself, Kathy was at a garage sale with Kelley and her friend Donna, selling off the remnants of Kole and Karissa's infant-hood. We even sold the Papasan and swing. It's weird, letting all that stuff go - but there's a certain symmetry to it happening as we celebrate Kole's third birthday as he pees and poops in the potty. Now sometimes not even in the training potty, but up on a stool whizzing away in the main throne. But, a milestone torch is being passed, we do not have newborns in this house and will never again, short of a freak miracle.
We went to Costco today to get his birthday cake. With Kathy away, I took Kole and Karissa and threw them in a cart. Along the way a worker there, an elderly black woman, asked who's birthday it is. I said it was Kole's. She then broke into the 'Happy Birthday To You' song. Kole was almost embarrassed but obviously enjoyed the attention. However, sitting two inches to his left was his little sister - who saw this scraggly old woman (with a hair net, no less, as she was one of those people serving samples) suddenly 4 feet from her, and Karissa immediately furled her bottom lip and began a howling cry. The worker never broke verse from the song. But when she was finished I consoled my little girl and she quickly cooled off.
Later, Paw Paw and Grams (my dad and step mom) plus Grandma (Kathy's mom), Uncle Duane (Kathy's bro) and Aunt Dawnell (Kathy's sister) came over with gifts and had cake. Kole saw me light the candles and immediately ran up and tried to blow them out. We all blurted out something for him to stop, and he quickly gave a pouting look like he was in trouble. But, we calmed him down, sang Happy Birthday properly, and he finally was able to blow out the candles (with some assist by Mom) and have cake.

He can be a handful. He is 100% boy, in all its inelegance. His sheer energy and inability to either understand direction or obey direction can upset his mother to a point where it then upsets his father. Maybe that's why they're called Terrible Twos. But, the language barriers are falling. Communication is becoming a two-way street with fewer obstructions and pot holes. He will become more independent. The books and magazines say he is finding and challenging his boundaries and authority. This is all very routine and predictable behavior. We hope that's all it is.
But, at the end of the day, when I lay him down to sleep, I can stare at his eyes and see a very kind, innocent, loving soul. Even when they're shut and playing dreams for his slumbering mind, I still sit and stare in wonder that is my flesh and blood recreated.
If anything many periods of the first three years went by too fast. We couldn't wait till he could start sleeping through the night; then it just seemed like we had good reason to want to speed up to the next milestone - crawling, cutting teeth, walking, saying "I love you" without prompting or in volley to your initial "I love you". Now I just wish the next three years would crawl by slower than his first elbow-tugging attempts at crawling itself.

We Haven't Forgotten

Despite her daddy-blogger's ability to keep up and write about it, Karissa continues to blossom and sprout and develop into a beautiful baby. She is sitting up on her own. She is very close to crawling. She now sits on her own in a high chair and nibbles on finger foods, and has begun other infant solids.

Her head continues to improve and grow into its proper shape and by her next appointment (she has a check-up and band adjustment every two weeks) they may be able to give us a firm time frame on how much longer she may need to wear it. Her head essentially has its proper form now. But, kind of like wearing a retainer after you get braces off your teeth, it essentially holds the improvements in place to "set". So, she'll be wearing it for at least a few more weeks. Having seen the back of her head, we are officially validated and gratified that we did the right thing. She may not think to thank us later in life, but it was definitely worth it to do this now.
Karissa continues to ramp up her cooing and communicating with her eyes and expressions. She is gaining strenth in her legs, hopping in her Jumperoo and sitting up while in her walker on the kitchen floor (though still a ways from walking even with the aid of rollers).

One thing we have noticed about Karissa's new independence and rolling on the ground is that she is extremely sensitive to bumps into furniture. A slight bump of the head or a swift accidental kick of the firm, hard coffee table will regularly get a quick display of tears. But, it does go fast. We're still at the point where we think she's at her cutest when she cries, so when we know that she's not really hurt we enjoy her little bouts of conversation.

It's easy to feel bad that Karissa's early life hasn't been blogged in micro-detail the way her brother was. It's not because she is any less interesting or that we're any less proud or impressed by her developments. I think we honestly got snared in the trap of being content parents who have been-there, done-that, who can just sit and enjoy the moment instead of being the wide-eyed parents who feel compelled to write an essay about every little detail. Sort of like riding a roller coaster the second time around. It's no less fun as the first time, and in fact a little easier to enjoy the ride.

With Kole being rambunctious and full of life, if not bratty and in need of owning all the attention in the room, free time is not what it once was with just one little baby under the roof. So, the blogging has suffered.
In the end - all is good. Kole's potty training has taken a noticeable lull, and production in the potty is few and far between. He has now specialized in repeating everything he hears. Not just mocking, but repeating, in attempted verbatim, everything he has heard. You don't have to be talking to him. You could be talking on the phone or we could be talking to each other. What he hears - he repeats. It's helped clean up any lingering salty language around here - leaving us to spell more.

Karissa's New Look (for a while)

Before a parent becomes a parent, they most likely are very judgemental spectators of other parents, who ...
*can't imagine why someone just can't keep their kid quiet in a restaurant.
*wonder what's so hard about making a kid eat vegetables.
*would never let a kid talk back to them.
... etc.

At some point, Kathy and I have probably made the same observations. It happens. It's part of being young and full of all the answers.

Sometimes the judgementalism doesn't stop, even after people become parents.

'Why do parents let their kids' head get all out of shape to the point where they have to wear one of those helmets?'

Well, now, even if we don't have all the solutions, we damn sure know the answers to the questions.
*Your version and our version of quiet aren't nearly the same. He seems pretty darned quiet and well behaved to us.
*Once a kid gets the taste of candy and mac-n-cheese, then spinach and green beans become a bigger challenge. It was for me and every kid I ever knew, every kid I know now, and mine too.
*Yes, my kid may talk back now where you can here it, but there are consequences paid when you're not around.
*Babies, true infant babies, aren't as easily molded and cooperative as the books and TV specials make it out to seem. As we've learned, breast feeding is far from automatic. Neither is tummy sleeping.

Karissa was essentially born in to a family of hacking, sniffling and sneezing. On September 22, 2010, the Fletcher house was going through a box of Kleenex about every other day. She quickly acquired every sniffle we had to offer. I can still picture her as a fresh-out-of-the-chute infant gurgling phlegm and snorting snot while trying to feed. For naps and sleep, if put on her tummy, she could barely breathe well enough to cry her heart out. The sound of wailing and gurgling was almost unbearable. She was not going to be a tummy sleeper. So on her back she went. It didn't take long for her to develop a sort of pattern of sleeping with her head tilted to the right.

Over time, with her skull still soft and easily maleable, it slowly over time began showing subtle signs of becoming misshapen. If you're looking at her face-forward there's really no way to tell. She's always taken a great picure. But, if she were sitting up, like in a Bumbo seat or her Jumperoo, and you were to take an over-head look, a bird's-eye view, you could see how the back-right of her head was more flat. And since for every action there is a reaction, her front-left is beginning a slight jut forward. It is ever so subtle. But if you look the right way it's clearly obvious. So, we recently took her to Cranial Technologies and got her fitted for a a Doc Band, more commonly referred to and seen as a helmet.

The band/helmet was ready today and she finally has it on. It's a different look, but because she has it so young (just shy of 7 months) she should only have to wear it a shorter amount of time. The longer we waited, the firmer her skull would become and the longer it would be to correct. So, as it is, this should be about a three month project. She's scheduled to be done with it by July if all goes well.

In the end, this is more cosmetic than a matter of necessity. If she did not have the helmet it would not affect the growth of her brain, her capacity to learn or thing, etc. She'd just have a funky looking head when she got older - which would mostly be invisible and covered by hair. But, if she got her hair wet or wanted to put her hair up in a ponytail, it the misshapen back of her head would be obvious. It's something that's worth correcting and we wanted to jump on the opportunity as young as possible. So, here we are. Once things correct and she gets the helmet off, she can go back to laying on her back, head turned to the right - just like the photo above; arms out, legs out, as if she were dropped from the ceiling and went splat! on the matress.

It's more jarring for other people to see who don't know what it is than it is for her or us. It's no more a sign of faulty parenting than is Kole still falling short of our potty training goals at the present. Sometimes kids just do whatever they're going to do, and it's not out of parental defiance. This is a cosmetic fix. She'll thank us for it later, once she old enough to notice someone with an unfixed flattened head. It's about three months. She'll never remember any of this. It's the right thing to do.

And Then .. He Found His Groove

So, that last post, posted just about 24 hours ago, would make it seem as if our oldest child has no showmanship. No moxie. No cajones.

Today, Kathy and I made a trek to Stephenville for a cousin of Kathy's, Stephen, getting married to Taylor - both are students at Tarleton State U. in Stephenville. Small wedding at a church that looks like it wouldn't last 5 seconds if an F1 tornado were within 100 yards of it. The reception was at a nearby VFW hall. Very old school for a couple 20 and 21 years of age, very cool, very quaint and wonderful. At the reception, the college kids were ready to get their groove on ... and Kole was ready to go step for step with them


Yesterday he was in full catatonic freeze at his school play. Today, he had the run of the dance floor. Yesterday it seemed as if a room full of strangers was the last place he wanted to be. Tonight, without spotlights and a sea of hungry eyes waiting for a crumb to nibble on, he gleefully danced without fear or shame and he was scanning the room to make sure everyone was at full attention of his shenanigans.

The cool thing is, for us, it's not like he came out of a shell. Tonight he was being Kole. Last night was the apparition. He was also a gentleman during the service, mostly quiet, and definitely the star toddler of the night. One in the row in front of us ended up underneath the chairs. The others were ring-bearers and flower girls caught in a spot they did not want to be in. After the bridesmaids and groomsmen made their march, a distinctive cry and howl was coming from the fourier. When the doors flew open a teenaged usher with a beaten-down look on his face was pulling a RadioFlyer wagon painted entirely white, with lace and flowers and billowy things all around it. In the wagon were a toddler-aged flower girl and ring bearer ... and they wanted NOTHING to do with the scene they found themselves in. The girl was crying hysterically and trying to crawl out, while her mother walked along side the wagon holding her in. The little boy seemed fairly at ease with the ride, but was obviously unhappy that he was seated next to Princess Panic Attack. He sat still, but his face looked upwards in a howling cry. The whole scene dripped of a great idea on paper during a bachelorette pedicure session, probably executed perfectly in rehearsal, then became an abysmal failure upon gameday execution - to the absolute delight of all the other spectators in the crowd.

So by those standards, Kole was great just being restless in his seat a few times, and pointing out - aloud - when the preacher would cough or clear his throat. "Coughing!" his little voice would pierce the silence of the church afterwards. Yes, he's coughing, now whisper, gosh dangit! Sweet Karissa, just like the night before at Kole's school performance, sat like an angel in her Grandma's lap, looking at the world and snacking on her own little hands and Grandma's necklace.

Then came the reception. Then the cake. Full of sugar, Kole took the dancefloor and the rest is history. I think we found his calling.

The Performance

Friday was Family Day for TLC, Kole's Mother's Day Out school at The Woods Methodist Church near our home. Not only is it where he goes every Tuesday and Thursday for 5 hours, but Aunt Kelley teaches in the next classroom over, so it's nice having family nearby. Kole every so often will come home singing a song we didn't teach him, or identify something or say a sentence that we know didn't come from us. He's 2 and his vocabulary is still very raw, so everything he's learning isn't entirely worn on his sleeves, but we can tell he's getting a lot out of it.

But Friday was sort of an end-of-year culmination, where each class gives a presentation of some kind. Kole is in the Frogs class of mostly 2-year-olds not potty trained. Aunt Kelley teaches Turtles in the next room over, 6-months-old to just over 1. Classes go up to pre-K, identified as Monkey and Giraffe classes, etc.

So Friday night was the big show. We were joined by Grandma (Kathy's mom) as well as Pa Pa and Grams (Keith's dad and step-mom). Plus, Uncle Kelly and cousin Riley, who were there to aid and assist the program that Kelley helped lead. The big year-end slideshow music video was dedicated to her, a sort of collective recognition from the teaching staff.

The video of Kole's performance pretty much speaks for itself. It was the youngest class to do an act, and was preceded by the director informing the gathering of 200+ parents, relatives and family friends that these are the youngest and to please understand and be supportive if one or more begins to cry or wander off stage.

And in they strolled, marching along while all holding a rope to all stay together, Kole sticking out in the back since he's a good inch taller than everyone in his class. Some classes would eventually do skits dressed in an Army/soldier theme, or 50's sock-hop themed, but the Frogs came just wearing matching white shirts with their backpacks on their backs. On Kole's last day of school, this past Thursday, we were informed that Kole was singing loudly in rehearsal, and was not hitting the girl to his left in the head, which he had done on Tuesday. I actually had medium-high hopes that he may not freeze up completely and at least sing a stanza or two. But, what we got from him is what we got from every single kid on stage - a gaggle of bewildered toddler spectators, watching as their teachers led them in singing just in front of them. Some moved their hands with the accompanying sign language that goes with "Jesus Loves Me", it got a bit of a head-bob from Kole, but nobody sang a peep in front of the throng of giggly parents.

I was easily the biggest video nerd in the room, complete with Sony minicam and tripod. Everyone else just whipped out their Flip video or iPhones and recorded away. In hindsight, I'm glad I had the tripod because otherwise the video would be a jiggly mess, I was laughing so hard I could not have held the camera straight, especially from a distance. He was just frozen up there, but nowhere near tears or panic. For a little ham bone who so frequently demands attention while engaged in various forms of tomfoolery in familiar company, he was gloriously out of his element on a stage with an audience, making it a very entertaining moment for the family who came to watch it in person.

Notice Anything?

Karissa's first tooth came some weeks ago, a little nub you had to feel with your finger. Then came the second another couple of weeks ago. Now, we finally have some proof of some coming chompers and it makes a beautiful smile just a little more adorable.

Spring Catch Up - No Foolin

I know it's been a while since we've posted anything. March is my (Keith's) busiest time of the year, and at one stretch I was on the road 12 out of 18 straight days, covering Big 12 championships of swimming & diving (UT/Austin), wrestling (Iowa State), basketball (Kansas City) and gymnastics (U. of Missouri/Columbia). Crazy, crazy time - and Kathy spent much of that alone in the house with the two little ones. A lot has happened, so it's time to catch up - no April Fools.

KARISSA UPDATE
Karissa turned 6 months old a week or so ago. She was 26-and-1/4 inches long (75%) and 15 pounds, 13 ounces (50%), so she's very normal and maybe a tad on the long side.
On March 17th, we finally felt her first tooth protruding through her bottom gum. Ever since then we've had the headaches that follow that - the profuse drooling, the teething pain and crying, etc. Then just a few days ago, we actually felt her second tooth coming in. She is eating solids now (supplementally she's having oatmeal cereal) and in perfect health. She turns herself over, both ways, and now sits up for a few ticks on her own.

One thing that has come along is that the shape of her head has not developed just so. If you look at her face-on you wouldn't notice a thing. At different angles, however, you'll notice one side flatter than another. Karissa never took to laying on her belly. She was essentially born with congestion. The day we brought her home she had a snorting head full of snot, and laying on her belly only made her gurgle and gag and that was not an option for much longer. She spent so much time on her back because of that she never really took to tummy time. And when I say she never took to it - she would spend 10 seconds on her belly and roar her indifference. The result is some slightly misshapen parts of her head. Now the thing is, she's still very young and at the point where it's the easiest to treat. She'll wear a band (you've seen the kids and probably called it a 'helmet', like we do, but they call it a 'band') for about 2-3 months. The older kids get, and the more their skull hardens, it takes considerably longer. So, we've made a quick decision to address this while she is young and it's easiest to manage. She'll thank us later. It's chiefly cosmetic, to be honest. There's nothing wrong with her head and it has nothing to do with the development of the brain. Basically, when she's older, if she wanted to put her hair up in a ponytail, or if her hair was short and she got out of the pool, it would be noticeable. Not really otherwise. So, we'll go ahead and do that now and just help her head look as perfect as her face.

While visiting the Cranial Technologies in Dallas, the technician held Karissa and examined her, holding her on her lap with Karissa's back to her. Karissa was darting her head and eyes over her shoulder left and right, staring the tech up and down. The tech seemed amazed at how alert she was, talking about how uncommon it was for a 6-month-old to be THAT alert and curious. We've thought the same thing for some time, but found it interesting that someone who sees different babies all day every day to mention the same unsolicited. Karissa notices and motions and laughs at our dog Maggie. She's even taken to a Baby Einstein video "Neighborhood Animals".

Right now Karissa's most outgoing personality trait is her nighttime wake-up call. When she's awake you won't hear crying necessarily. You'll hear thumps. Like someone is banging on the front door thumps. What she does is lift her feet in front of her face while laying down, then slam her feet down. The resulting thwump! can be heard at the other end of the house. And yes, it will be heard over a monitor in the middle of the night. So, a nickname of "Thumper" or something similar hasn't officially taken place, but it may not be long.

KOLE UPDATE
Not much to update on the potty training front. He has and will produce some poop on the potty, but it has no regularity (in reference to his potty appearances, not his BMs). He is experimenting with big-boy underwear. The idea, according to the books and magazine articles, is that when he wets or poops in them, he'll get a different and much more comfortable experience than with a diaper. Well ... maybe in theory. In reality, Kole can go just as long in a peed-on and pooped-in underwear as he can in a diaper. No difference and no deterrence.

Kole knows his colors and most of the alphabet on site. He cheerfully sits in his car seat now pointing out all the cars ... "orange car! Red truck! White car!" etc. He's also starting to express himself in more complete sentences and thoughts, not just one- or two-word commands. "Mommy - cahab juice peese!" (can I have juice please); "uh guh out-SIIIDE, uh wuh red firetruck!". And so on. He uses bigger more complex words. He'll actually be doing something like drawing with a Crayola and say "learn at school", referring to his mother's-day-out school he still goes to twice a week.

Speaking of school, we finally got a report this week that he was disciplined for his behavior. It seems that there's some box of some kind in the classroom that he has taken a shine to climbing on top of. He was told more than once not to get on the box, and he finally had to do a Timeout after doing it again. Each day he gets a little report card mentioning what happened that day and it has three things for Behavior that could potentially be circled: Great, Good or Acted Out. On the day of the Timeout he actually got a Good behavior, but he has got a Acted Out once before. It seems that when other kids come to play with him or maybe attempt to share a toy, or even take it from him, his reaction is to push or shove. He didn't learn it here, but it appears to be an easy thing to pick up from any school activity or play date with other little friends he sees with Kathy's friends or even at church. One time a couple of months ago I took him to the indoor playground at a nearby Chick-Fil-A and watched a kid shove Kole, just to get him out of the way so he could slide down a slide. I had words with the kid afterwards. But, I guess Kole has been exposed to shoving and now he partakes of the act from time to time.

He rides his tricycle and now propels himself with the pedals, after several months of Fred Flintstone footwork. He's active, he's happy, he's healthy, and for the most part he's a very, very good boy and the joy of our lives.

Doggone Dogs

Today we mourn the passing of a dear family friend - Kole's Pa Pa (Keith's dad) and Grams had to put down their long time loyal pal, Spud. It's always tough seeing an old friend go, especially one who never gets angry and is always overjoyed to see us.

Maggie, our dog, is a docile little thing that Kole can easily upset by petting her too hard (slapping her, practically) or tugging on her ears or tail. With Spud, Kole could always do as he pleased - whacking/petting him as hard as he wanted. Kole could ride Spud for a bit.

It's a tough loss, as we've had a recent spell of unfortunate dog incidents. Our little Hurricane Katrina evacuee, Maggie, is getting old and is currently deaf. She's also getting very careless about getting - and staying - out of the house. It used to not be a big deal if we went to check mail, or came home with groceries, and left a door open for Maggie to come out with us, sniff around squat a few dozen times. If we ever accidentally came in and closed the door on Maggie, leaving her outside or in the garage, she'd immediately bark up a storm at the door and demand to get back in.

Nowadays ... not so much.

This past week, for the second time in about two months, we had a neighbor call us asking "is your dog accounted for?" - and she wasn't. It sucks that we have a 2-and-1/2 year old and a nearly-5-month old distracting us, but it's easy to lose track of Maggie, especially since she's so darn lazy and just lays around and sleeps or rests or relaxes around the clock. Everyone thinks they have a lazy dog, but Maggie is the Queen Princess of never making a peep all day and literally laying in one spot ALL DAY, or until Kole bugs the crap out of her and she has to get away.

Last week, Kathy was out on other dinner plans, leaving me at home with the little ones. I was eating with Kole at the dining room table and Karissa was in her Jumperoo when the call came. Our neighbor had called Kathy's cell - and Kathy texted me "is Maggie in the house?" Right as I realize she's not, the neighbor calls me and I beg her to go out and help look for her. I quickly did the math and realized that she had to have been out for at least 40 minutes, since Kathy last left. What was worse - this was one of those nights when a huge cold front was expected to blow through around 10:00 at night. We NEEDED to get that dog in the house, and time was of the essence. The last time Maggie was out, Kathy got out in her car to do a neighborhood search while I kept the little ones. Luckily, it was a short search.

Maggie benefits from Kole's mockery of parenthood

But now ... I'm solo, and my car only has a car seat for Kole. Kathy has the 2-car-seat car. WHAT THE? So what did I do? What any responsible parent of a dog would do ... or what Britney Spears would do. In socks, sweats and a t-shirt, I threw Kole into the front seat and held Karissa in my lap. This was not the time to spend 5 minutes figuring out what to do with everyone. And above all, I knew that I would never leave our neighborhood streets and never get the car much over 5 mph. I mean, I was trying to scan the area for a dog. With this 3-second justification, Kole made his debut riding shotgun and Karissa rode on my left knee as I held her then steered with the right. I had the window cracked open, but the storm was on it's way and the wind was picking up. Temp was about 45 degrees outside. Not frigid, but not warm. I took an entire trip around our block when I ran into the husband of our neighbor that called, he was out being walked by his Great Dane, Titan, joining in the search. Since I was going so slow, one trip around the block took nearly 5 minutes. Finally, about to take my second trip around, this little white dog darts across my path.

"MAGGIE!!" I scream out the window, just 20 feet from her. She keeps walking, and actually steps it up a notch. Shit - she's deaf, and now she doesn't know it's me and is scared. So again I ask the question - What am I supposed to do? I had few options at the time. I was going to hand Karissa over to Kole, but that seemed like a bad idea since I wasn't sure how long of a chase I would be in for. So, I threw open the door, tucked Karissa under my left arm like a football and started running for Maggie. Thank God Karissa is past 4 months and can now hold her head up. I looked down for a second and noticed her head bobbing, but she wasn't unhappy. The wind was cold and there I was in sweats and socks and a t-shirt running across the street and into someone's front yard. Maggie noticed me running after her and it's like she just gave up, as if she was sure to die. She just hit the deck and put her paws up. I grabbed her and picked her up, and it's like she picked up my scent and knew who I was and immediately started wheezing in relief. Where was a camera when I needed one - my Father of the Year nomination, hobbling through a stranger's yard in socks and a t-shirt when it's 45-degrees in the dark of night with an infant tucked under one arm and a dog under the other. I got back to the car and, thankfully, Kole hadn't moved an inch and seemed fascinated by his view of the show. I threw Maggie on his lap and he squealed with excitement. I put Karissa back on my lap, as she again seemed completely unaffected by anything. We got home, I shut the garage door, we all went in - Maggie darting immediately for her water bowl - and I warmed up Kole and Karissa before calling Kathy with the good news.

Some times a day goes by and it frustrates me if something memorable doesn't happen. Something that I'll remember and tell the kids about later in life, or that they may remember. And then there's events like that - out of nowhere - that I'll never, ever, even possibly forget.

Snow Day 2011

Karissa's Solids & Jumperoo

Upon turning 4 months, we have ramped up Karissa to her first solid food - rice cereal - and have the video of her first venture with it. Obviously, she sees her mother's hand come her way and she immediately goes into nipple-receiving mode and is not quite sure what to make of the object protruding her mouth with a glob of goo is all about.
Afterwards in the video is a shot of her in her Jumperoo - the same little contraption that Kole once played in and has handed-down. It's perfect at this age to get her off her back and in an upright position. As you can see, she's extremely alert and is already manipulating toys and using her legs to support and gyrate herself.
It's scary how one morning last week Kathy walked into the kitchen with her one morning, and it's like Karissa had her head up while being held, locked eyes with me from way across the room as Kathy walked closer, and the closer the got the faster she recognized me and smiled. It was one of those moments like ... weren't you just a helpless little newborn last week? How did you grow up this fast??
Scary. But wonderful at the same time.

Karissa's 4 Month Checkup

Karissa has passed the 4 month mark and is now 14 pounds, 3 ounces - up about a pound from a month ago; and 25 inches - up about an inch from last month. She is in the 90th percentile for length, meaning that only 10% of babies in America are longer. She had two more shots today - both given in her thigh, and she cried and quickly developed a hard bump where the needle was. Poor thing. She was grumpy and sad most of the day, but finally just went to sleep.
Her head circumference is 40.5 centimeters, which puts her in the 30th percentile. She still has a fairly narrow head, a result of her laying flat on her back too much. She just does not like laying on her tummy too much. It's not great, but it's not really an issue. The doctor didn't seem alarmed, nor was Jason - Keith's cousin who is a pediatrician - who saw Karissa over Christmas. With a full head of hair, it's hard to tell anyone's true head shape, and lots of people have heads that are just more narrow or pointed than others. Karissa may not have a clinically perfect round head, but with a full head of hair nobody would ever know. She's healthy and happy, and for that we are very grateful.

The Budding Big Brother

The photo at the right was not staged. I did not dupe Kole into doing everything he's doing just for a photo op. The other day while just he and I were in the house, he fetched Karissa's pink bear. I doubt Karissa knows that this bears is hers, but Kole is now proficient in identifying bears on TV or in books, and when he's in her room to get his diaper changed or something he'll point and yell for the bear. So, he's frequently seen with the pink bear.

Back to the other day, I'm in the kitchen making him dinner or something, and behind my back I hear him saying "ah hun-GEE ... ah hun-GEE". We now now that "ah" is his versatile noun that can me "I", "you" or anyone else in the room. The other word I recognized as his for hungry. I then informed him that I was going as fast as I can but corn dogs need time. I then heard a dining room chair scoot, and thought he might have sat up himself, which must mean he's really hungry. Finally I looked over and see what's in the photo. He had placed the bear in a chair, grabbed a little sandwich baggie of Ruffles from the counter top, leftover from his lunch at mothers-day-out school that day, and was attempting to feed the bear chips.

I had to stop and take about 10 seconds to soak it all in. He had carefully put the bear in its chair at the table, presumed it was hungry, and was now feeding it. Or, pretending to feed it, as those modules of his brain are becoming increasingly active. Maybe in his own mind the bear was taking a bite, but after holding the chip to its mouth for a few seconds Kole would ultimately devour the chip. It was win-win for stuffed bear and human boy alike. It was a neat moment, and I snapped this picture without him knowing, proud that I captured the innocence and spontaneity of the moment.

In other pictures on this blog we've shown Mr. Froggie, the stuffed frog who wears jeans and a shirt. Kole will frequently pull the back of the frog's pants back saying "poo-poo ... poo-poo ... ah diaper". It's pretty cute, checking to see if Mr. Froggie has crapped his britches and in need of a change.

We are seeing more and more signs from Kole that he is prepared to be a helpful brother. He's sure as heck a helpful son. He knows what a phone is, so if you sit down to feed Karissa and the phone rings, he's a quick and reliable retrieving service. He actually calls the TV remote control is a phone - they are the same size and both have numbers all over them. That's okay, if we need the remote just ask for the phone. If he brings the real phone just point to the remote and say "no - the other phone". He gets it eventually. He knows what a bib is and the drawer where they're kept, and is great for fetching one if you've already sat down with Karissa.

Such a great helper. Such a growing boy getting wiser by the day.