Summer 2011 Pix

We haven't had much of a summer here in Seattle, but on certain days it's been sunny and warm enough for us to take Kailyn outside and snap some pictures. Here's a sample. Have a nice weekend!







And one from inside...

See You on the Flip Side

Kailyn has gotten the hang of flipping over from her back onto her stomach; it's making the full revolution that is currently giving her a problem. So far, she hasn't been able to figure out how to turn from front to back, which leads to a baby scream that if translated might sound a little like, 'Hello? A little help over here?'

At night, we'll sometimes hear her wail a bit from her crib. Helen or I will take a look at the baby monitor to find Kailyn on her tummy. Five minutes later she's alseep, face-down (but head turned to the side so she can breathe.)

It'd be nice if she learned how to turn back over, but as long as she's ok and doesn't suffer from too much puffy face, it's not something we worry too much about.

Home Run Derby at Work

Now that we have more guys in our office the opportunity for athletic pursuits has increased dramatically. Not that the women in the office can't or don't like to play sports, but I've found that there is a definite difference between what they find enjoyable vs. what guys do when it comes to things like...Home Run Derby.

The other day at work we decided to play during lunch. (Side note: It's great to work on a university campus because there are things like baseball fields within walking distance right behind our offices.)

I had visions of 'putting on a laser show' as Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox likes to say, but the reality is that in two rounds, I had a pretty weak showing and only jacked one HR (good for last place overall.) What made it so much worse was that our version of the Evil Empire, Jordan, ended up winning the whole tournament. (Remind me to tell you about Jordan, sports and competition sometime. This guy takes things SERIOUSLY.)

Anyway, the point of this post was to mention how much fun it was to get outside on a nice summer day, bond with my coworkers and heckle each other and laugh as only a bunch of guys can with one another. Even if Jordan won.

Puffy Face

A couple of days ago I got a frantic call at work from Helen, who told me that Kailyn's face was all swollen. Helen said the baby's right cheek looked puffy and her right eye was smaller than her left. I pictured her looking like Martin Short's character in 'Pure Luck' after he got stung by a bee, or like Gerry Cooney* after going 12 rounds with Larry Holmes.



Helen was in a bit of a panic because she wondered if maybe Kailyn had an allergic reaction to some food we'd fed her the night before. I thought for a second then replied, 'Or maybe it's just that she slept on her tummy last night.'

Upon closer inspection, we decided that was probably more likely the reason for her puffy face: Kailyn had never fallen asleep on her stomach before, and her face probably got smushed a bit and swollen from lying face-down all night (and not being used to it.)

Sure enough, after a couple of hours, the shape of her face returned to normal, Helen stopped feeling guilty and all was right in the world.

*- Gerry Cooney reference, courtesy Kevin D.

Back From Beantown

We just got back from our weeklong trip to Boston, which was a resounding success. Everyone on my side of the family LOVED Kailyn, and she was really well behaved and super-fun to be around. As a bonus, she ate and slept great even though she was in a new city. This kid is the best! Here are some pix from the trip:

Gay Block Party

We want Kailyn to be open-minded and accepting of all people (like we try to be), so we took her to our neighborhood's Gay Pride Festival recently. It was a good time, and the streets were packed with fabulosity. The only thing I hadn't taken into account when deciding to take her was the noise level - it was really loud with all the stage performances, including one with a J-Lo crossdresser lip-synching the song below. I dug it because that song is catchy, but from her bewildered look (due to the noise, not the crossdresser) I'm not sure if Kailyn felt the same way...

Da Da Da

Kailyn is developing almost daily. In addition to getting taller, heavier and almost being able to fit into my Air Jordans, she is also learning new stuff like how to sit upright on her own without tipping over, put a pacifier in her mouth by herself and shimmy/slide from a sitting position onto her back.

It's pretty neat to see all this, but it's what I'm hearing that's really making me smile: in addition to making her usual baby noises, she has learned to say 'Da da.' I'm pretty sure she isn't saying 'yes' in Russian or referring to me directly, since she utters that word at pretty much everything she looks at. But it's nice to pretend that is her way of saying 'Daddy.'

Hearing her say 'da da' will never get old for me, even though I have to admit after about 30 minutes of it I start thinking about this old car commercial: