Stairs

A couple of times we have gone on the back porch and hung out with Kaitlyn. She crawls or walks around and explores. She has shown interest in the stairs, probably because Snoopy goes up and down them constantly. It's funny, because she doesn't like the grass so I can't figure out why she would want to go down the stairs.

Today she crept to the edge and would reach over with her pointer finger. Each time she reached, she would get a little more brave. It looked like she was trying to dip her finger in a swimming pool. Somehow she figured out how to scoot on her butt down the stairs (with mommy closely supervising and assisting as needed). Once down, she worked on getting back up.

We were quite impressed with her. She has been around 1 step up/down, but hasn't been given an opportunity to play on the stairs. It took her a few attempts to get her foot up but she got it! With only one plop backwards on the first stair (dad was there to catch), she went all the way up!

OT begins

Today we got a visit from the friendly ladies with Easter Seals to assess Kaitlyn's need for occupational and/or speech therapy. Bittersweet. I have been wanting and asking for help with these issues so it is a relief to know we are moving forward. She will be seeing an occupational therapist once a week for the foreseeable future.

Our #1 focus will be feeding. Getting her to self feed and eat solid food - neither of which she really does right now. I also learned that eating leads to talking, which would indicate why she hasn't progressed with her consonants. She closes her mouth to swallow, which is why she can do "ma ma." But she isn't using her tongue enough to form her B's and D's.

Hopefully we can schedule our first visit next week!

Birthday Party Fun!

This weekend we took Kaitlyn to a birthday party. It was at a place called "Just Add Kids." It was wall to wall toys and activities. Craziness! Needless to say, Kaitlyn had 1 jam filled hour of fun. When everyone stopped for food, she was a bit on overload so we left. But man, what fun she had!

First Steps

Kaitlyn took her first steps last Friday. She is good for about 3 or 4 steps and then she gracefully sits down. Such a cautious girl! I've been trying to catch it on video but no such luck. Here's a picture from today in her new jammies. Aren't they cute?


And here she is yesterday in her jeans. Man, something about the jeans makes her look so grown-up!

Too Cute

This video needs to be flipped (and I'm too lazy to fix it) but hopefully you can get the point. I was attempting to record Kaitlyn saying "Ma ma" but when I hit record on my phone a spotlight came on. So Kaitlyn was distracted. This is her reacting to the spotlight.

Outlet Mall and the Zoo

In the week after Christmas, Kaitlyn had many adventures! On Tuesday, Kaitlyn and I went to the outlet mall with Karen and Jenny. Kaitlyn really loved strolling around and looking at all of the people. I was hoping she would get some sleep on the way up there, but no such luck. She did manage to fall asleep while we were in the Gap. But that didn't last too long - the excitement in the air at Coach woke her up.

She is definitely in the phase where she wants to get down and be mobile all of the time. But since she isn't walking yet, there isn't always a place for her to crawl around. I figured out that I could let her get down in the dressing room and she loved looking in the mirrors.

On Thursday, Eric, Kaitlyn and I went to the zoo with Mike G, Jenny, Mike H and Lily. This trip was much better than our first attempt! Kaitlyn really liked hanging out with Lily.

Christmas - Take 3

After Grandma Aitken's, we went back home for more fun. Grandma and Grandpa Bork came over with Uncle Scott and Russell. Grandpa Aitken came over and so did Cousin Katherine. Then Aunt Denise and Cousins Kristen and Lauren drove in from Houston. What a day!