There they are!

When I got back to New York, I found my toes. Daddy says that we brought them with us to KY, but I strongly doubt it because I never saw them there! Anyway, they sure are fun to play with!

Lately, I've been enjoying putting all of my toys in my mouth. Mom keeps saying something about a "sensorimotor stage" of cognitive development. Whatever. All I know is that if it's good enough to be in my hands, it's good enough to be in my mouth.

At long last, I'm finally big enough to wear those reusable pocket diapers that Mom and Dad bought for me long before I was born. Good thing, too, because with all of the diapers I went through while I was on the antibiotics, I think I've already put my fair share of disposables into the landfills.

I've been growing like crazy! The last time I was weighed was on December 4th (when I went in for the VCUG) and I was 10 pounds, 3 ounces. I go in for my 4-month check-up (and shots!) this Monday, January 12th. How much do you think I'll weight then? Daddy thinks 12 pounds, 1 ounce; Gram thinks 12 pounds, 5 ounces; Mommy thinks 13 pounds even. Any other guesses?

My first Christmas...

...And my first trip to Kentucky! Well, that is, if you're only counting my out-of-the-womb trips.


Mommy, Daddy, and I are finally back in New York after a long, wonderful 2-week trip to Kentucky to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year with family and friends. With the car loaded with a kitty, a baby, and all of my "needs", we jetted out toward KY a day early to beat the noreaster headed our way and made the trip in 21 hours (it typically takes 14 hours, but apparently Mom and Dad don't usually stop every 2-3 hours to eat and change their diapers). It was exciting to get to see so many new places on the way. Here's a current list of all of the states that I've been to. I'm turning into quite the traveler! There are even rumors that I might get to go to England this summer, too!


States visited while in the womb:
New York - January 08
Massachusetts - February 08
Connecticut - April 08
Kentucky - May 08
Vermont - August 08
New Hampshire - August 08


States visited while out of the womb:
New York - September 08
Massachusetts - November 08
Pennsylvania - December 08
Maryland - December 08
West Virginia - December 08
Kentucky - December 08
Ohio - January 09

I was so excited that Mom and Dad had packed my Jungle Gym and my Mobile so I could feel more at home and get to play with my familiar friends. I just LOVE that monkey!! During my time in KY, I started grabbing it off of its hanging place on the Jungle Gym and putting it in my mouth. Mmmmm...monkeys taste good!

For some reason, I think this yellow creature is hilarious. I laughed out loud for the first time on the night on the 26th while watching this mobile friend go 'round and 'round.

I got some fun new toys, too. This ball flashes lights and plays music. I'm still not quite sure what to do with it, but for now it sure is fun to stare at!

Grammie made me this beautiful pink dress (with a matching blanket and booties!)

It was great to get to spend so much time with family! I was glad to get to meet so many of my cousins and aunts and uncles.

Here's a picture of "the girls" - Me with my cousins Clara (9) and Maggie (5)

I wish Clara lived closer so she could babysit me!

My cousin Tyler and I hit it off well, too. He may be 11 years older than me and a football player, but he also has long hair and I have an incredibly strong grip. HEHEHE!

During my time in KY, I discovered the television set. Let me tell you something - watching people play Guitar Hero for hours and hours into the night is REALLY exciting! Tyler, you will always be my Guitar Hero!!

My cousin Syndey (9) got me this puppet book of Horton Hears a Who. Sydney was even kind enough to read it to me! I sure hope Elli isn't jealous of my new elephant friend!
Sydney and me:I loved snuggling with my aunts!
And as always, HOORAH FOR GRANDPARENTS!

Here's me teaching Grammie the sign for "grammie" in ASL.
Gram sure knows how to make me smile! (And I think I know how to make her smile, too!)
It was great to get to meet my Grandpa Rawert. It turns out that we have a lot in common; for one thing, we both like taking naps!

Daddy and I got to spend a lot of quality time together, too!

For Christmas this year, I gave Mom one of the best gifts of all - the gift of dairy! Once we got to KY, Mom and Dad couldn't pass up the opportunity to get their hands (and mouths) on some Papa Johns Pizza. Four pieces of pizza and several cheese sticks later, Mom fed me the "danger milk" and everyone waited to see what would happen. And guess what? No screaming baby! That's right - I'm over my sensitivity to dairy now and so Mom can have milk, cheese, and butter again. And it was just in time for Christmas cookies! (Although my Aunt Monica had graciously made some dairy-free goodies for Mom).

Here's me pretending to eat a cookie. Oh, if only I had teeth...

On New Year's Eve, we spent time with some of Mom and Dad's friends from high school and I got to meet Baby Lily! Then, Mom, Dad, and I went to visit Grammie who was working at Walgreens that night.

I also got to meet some of Mom's friends from college while we were in town. After Mom and Jacqueline spent almost 2 hours sharing traumatic childbirth stories, we're pretty sure that we've scared Betsy and Ryan into never having kids. Sorry, guys. Just remember, it "usually isn't like that".
I did great on the trip back. We make the trek back to NY in one day (in 16 hours!) and only stopped 3 times. We had a wonderful time in KY and wish we could have seen even more friends and spent even more time with people. Merry Christmas and Happy 2009 to all of you!!!!

Christmas is coming...

Isn't this outfit adorable?

It even came with a hat!

Even Zoli's getting in the holiday spirit!

I can't wait until our trip to Kentucky at the end of the week. I'll get to see my Grammie, Grandpa, and Gram again and FINALLY get to meet my POPS! :) I'm looking forward to spending time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins, too, and seeing all of my parents' friends. Look out KY - here I come!!

3 months old and growing...

I've been feeling MUCH better now that I'm off my antibiotics and am also sleeping longer at night since I don't have to wake up a million times for diaper changes. HOORAY! I'm clearly not spending as much time on my changing table anymore because Zoli has discovered it as a comfortable place to relax. You better look out, Kitty, or Daddy will put a diaper on you!

Instead of tearing through the diapers, I now spend a lot of time during the day playing - I just can't seem to get enough of my jungle gym!
Did you know that I have a birthmark on the back of my head? Well, I have a birthmark on the back of my head! Mom and Dad decided to take a picture of it before it got all covered up with hair (which IS growing, by the way. Slowly but surely!).

Finally, I wanted to share with you the whole host of nicknames that my parents have for me lately:

Squirmy Wormy

Lil Miss

Baby

Little One

Poopasaurus Rex

Kaira Beth

Punkin Diddle

Sweetie McSweetums (or just Sweetums for short)

And of course...LittleBit

Put your hands together!

Here's my new trick. I started doing it last Wednesday at our Bible study group right after the final prayer. I saw everyone else doing this and decided to try it, too!

I've heard rumors that I also have feet, but I haven't found them yet...

VCUG: The Long Story

Here's a video of me sharing the long story of my VCUG test on Thursday. For those of you who don't understand my language of coos, grunts, squeals, and flailing limbs, I've included English subtitles.

Kaira on Thanksgiving Day 2008

My first video post. My little fingers still have some trouble getting the firewire cable connected to both the camera and the computer.

VCUG: A-OK!!

The short story is this:

I had my VCUG test yesterday and everything came out (literally) just fine! It turns out that my Urinary Tract Infection back in October was just a strange fluke and I don't have anything anatomically wrong with me. HOORAY!! And the best part is...that means that I can stop taking my antibiotics...which will mean that I can stop taking my probiotics...which means that I can stop taking my anti-fungals...which means that I may still be able to redeem my career in politics!! (Although the pro-fungals out there will probably always raise a fuss that I never took their side.)

Stay tuned for the long story...

Is it December 4th yet?

Well, it was just a matter of time given all of the antibiotics I'm on, but sure enough - I got thrush. I was already using anti-fungal medication on my diaper area to cure/prevent a yeast infection, and now I have to take another oral medicine to cure the yeast infection in my mouth. And Mom has to take medicine, too, to cure the thrush that I gave her. Hey - I was just trying to share!

Only 3 more days until my VCUG test, and then hopefully I'll be able to stop this crazy medicine regimen. Please pray for me!