All Wound Up

Kathleen's post-dinner, pre-bath playtime. She's so excited she can hardly stand it. She can hardly stand, either!

Cruising

Kathleen shows off her cruising skills on the living room ottoman. When she tumbles down, she crawls off for other adventures.

Into Everything!

Kathleen's Shelves
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

As a concession to Kathleen's growing independence and curiosity, we finally emptied the books from the bottom shelves in the living room. Those are now filled with Kathleen's books and toys, and she loves to stand at the shelves, alternately playing with her toys and throwing them on the floor. Once too timid to venture beyond the living room carpet, Kathleen now explores the condo with surprising speed. She's always on the hunt for something that didn't get properly put away -- Mommy's wallet or a pair of flip flops or (best of all) a magazine. She still likes to test things out by putting them in her mouth, so we occasionally have to fish wads of paper out of her little mouth. Whoops!

One of Kathleen's favorite games is to be chased around the ottoman in the living room. Perhaps that's how she's acquired some speed! The combination of peek-a-boo, standing, crawling, and tickling (when she's caught!) make her laugh hysterically. She'll begin to giggle as soon as you approach the ottoman, and in no time at all she's nearly knocking herself over from laughter. When she's not laughing too hard, though, she's getting pretty good at standing. We haven't convinced her to try to take any steps yet, but she'll happily stand and clap for us.

Kathleen still enjoys pestering Daddy when he's lying on the couch and stealing the remote control or his books from him. Now that Daddy's doing a little better and can sit up for a few minutes, Kathleen likes to read her own books with him. Her favorite books are "Feely Bugs," "Touch and Feel Baby Animals," and "Spot's Touch and Feel Day." She gets very excited to touch the fuzzy animals or find Spot under his curtain. She likes other books, too, but she mostly likes to chew them!

Dad and Daughter
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Supervising Her Patient

Checking on Daddy
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Nurse Kathleen

Kathleen
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Jim had back surgery last week, and is now home recuperating. Surgeons removed pieces of bone from his spine to try to relieve pressure on Jim's nerves, which was making his leg feel numb. Everything seems to have gone well. The medicines are helping him with the pain, and he seems a little more comfortable each day. Jim's not allowed to sit, because that'd put too much pressure on his spine. But he can lie down, or he can stand and walk a little. So he spends most of the day in bed or on the couch, although he's very good about getting his walking exercise.

Kathleen likes that she can get right up to Daddy when he's lying in the living room. Kathleen likes to stand at the edge of the couch and harass her Daddy, stealing his books or magazines or drinks from his table. This is the view of Kathleen that Jim gets when Nurse Kathleen checks on him!

Even though Jim's laid up, Kathleen's very much on the move. Her crawling is smoother and faster and now takes her all over the condo. She's beginning to stand on her own, pulling herself up and then letting go of whatever's supporting her. She doesn't last that long, but she's getting better!

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Welcome Home, Daddy!
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Jim arrived home this week, much to our delight. We were able to pick him up at the airport, and we met him with a lei and lots of hugs and kisses. Jim's time in Kuwait was busy, but went well, and his trip home went well, too. He even got to fly first class for part of the trip!

Now that our family is back together, we're settling into "real" life. Kathleen seems to remember her Daddy, and hasn't been too shy around him. She continues to grow like a weed, and is learning new tricks every day. This week she has learned to drink through a straw (Jamba Juice was the perfect incentive) and drag books off the bookshelf and crawl to previously unexplored corners of the condo. She's also very chatty lately. She says "da da da" a lot, but hasn't quite figured out that that's Jim.