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Journal Key:

Green = Steve | George = navy | Janet = Purple | Evelyn = Black

12/14/06 (Thursday)

This morning Cara had her Tylenol Infant Drops but her temperature reached 102 before the drops kicked in. On emergency backup duty, I picked Cara up from Susan's at 9:30. By then the Drops had their effect and Cara seemed happy enough to ride in the car singing and counting on the way. When at home we read plenty of books before her 11:15 yogurt lunch. She went down for her nap without complaint.

Cara was cheerful and fine when I got home, around five. She ran around and played while Grandpapa left, and then we went upstairs and she ran around and played while I changed my clothes. We read books and played peek-a-boo and had a lovely time playing together.

The most exciting moment was when we were downstairs. "Shelby?" Cara started calling, "Shelby?" I picked her up and we were off and looking. "Shelby, where are you?" she called! Of course, she doesn't pronounce the letter r or the letter l, so it's a little bit more like, "Sheby, wea a you?" She said it a few times before Steve got home, but when he was around I could not get her to repeat her performance. Strangely, she doesn't seem to discriminate between the cats. She is willing to identify either of them as Shelby. This is somewhat odd.

At dinner, Cara ate her broccoli, among other things. I looked over to see her ruminatively holding a piece of broccoli in one hand, while breaking off tiny pieces with the other and eating them as finger food. When we were done eating, we gave Cara a cheese stick. She ate half of it eagerly, but then she started pulling off little pieces and handing them to Steve. She often offers us her food. I just tell her, "It's all right, you go ahead," and she usually eats it. She's an awfully polite toddler.

Cara and her daddy just came downstairs for one last romp before bed. It was Cara's idea. She hugged her puma. She hugged her monkey. She wouldn't hug her mommy. She picked up the phone from where it was lying on the couch and brought it into the kitchen. She indicated clearly where it belonged and watched while Daddy hung it up. Cara ate another cheese stick and then had us get her some water. She ran to the living room and sat down with her monkey puppet. She held him lovingly and rammed the sippy cup down his throat. When she was distracted, Steve put on the puppet. When she looked back, the monkey was waving at her. That nice monkey got more to drink and a nice hug. Finally, Cara was carried off to bed.

Steve, by the way, doesn't think it at all odd that Cara would think of both cats as Shelby. Both are called kitties, so why shouldn't they both be Shelbies?

12/15/06 (Friday)

Up at 8:30 A.M., Cara is snuffly and drippy, a continuation of the cold of yesterday and I'm concerned because we have big plans for the little one today. I medicate her and in a half an hour or so, she's fiddling around with things and acting very much like herself, sickness a thing of the past.

This is important because Grandmama Janet and I want to take Cara to the Middletown North H.S. basketball game this evening. We figure that Cara's trip to the football game back in September was a big success, maybe she'll like this too.

We take it easy in the morning. Reflecting on the week, I realize that I haven't taken Cara anywhere this week mostly because she's been sick and on the verge of sick all week.

She doesn't act tired but at 11:45 I plop her into her crib and tiptoe out of the room. She sleeps until 2:30 and when I go up to get her, I see that she appears very healthy--no sneezing, no sniffling, no coughing. No need for more Tylenol.

We're in the car and in Middletown by 4 P.M. where Grandmama Janet is very happy to see little Cara--the two of them haven't been together for over two weeks! We putter around with Cara, looking for signs that we're straining her, but then at the last minute we decide she's okay and we head off for the school.

We sit pretty much under one of the baskets and have a good look at the action. Cara doesn't get to run around as much as at the football game, Grandmama keeps a close lookout. Cara has fun jamming pens and scrap paper into the bizarre handholds in the bleachers, then calling for them to come back. We have a lot of fun and stick around until the end of the third quarter. At the MHOP, Cara has her favorite grilled cheese sandwich. The waitress says "she gets dessert with that" and soon Cara has chocolate pudding in front of her and on her sweater and her little face. She's a joy to behold.

Soon we're back at the ranch and Cara has her bath and is tucked safely into her crib, the familiar sleepy-time music playing. Life couldn't be better.

12/16/06 (Saturday)

Oh, what a busy day!

Last night Cara had a great time with her grandparents. They attended a high school basketball game and went to the M-HOP. At the game, Cara demonstrated her new language skills. She dropped her toys down a hollow railing (I believe), and then looked after them, calling "are you?" She's dropped the "where," and she still doesn't really say the letter r. Cara ate a grilled cheese sandwich and a lot of chocolate pudding. Cara started to develop a cough, so she got a quick bath and went to bed.

In the morning, Cara was needy and listless. She clung to her grandmama. Suddenly, her mommy and daddy were there, right in Grandmama's kitchen! We had come down to decorate the Christmas tree. Cara perked right up. We all had a good breakfast together, and Cara helped with the tree. When she first saw it, she thought it was very funny to have a tree in the house. That clever grandmama had made gingerbread ornaments, which little girls can put into their mouths if they want. Cara quickly got the idea about hanging them on the tree, but she didn't really know how to hook the ribbon over the branches. We did a lot of running around and chasing each other, and Cara got to see some of her books, some of which she can identify by name. Cara spent some of her time searching for the cat, sitting by the door to the outside and saying "cat, are you?" Surprisingly, he didn't answer.

I took Cara home, leaving Steve there to play a computer game. Cara stayed awake the whole way home, and I changed her and put her down. She chattered for a long time, and I went downstairs to do some cleaning. About an hour after I put her down, I went and picked Cara up. She was making noises that clearly meant, get me out of here! Fortunately, she was able to amuse herself for a good deal of the time, while I got things done.

When Cara and I got home from the grocery store, she had a snack and then I sat down to read her a book. We were interrupted when Grandpapa, Grandmama, Aunt Claire, and Daddy walked in the door! Cara got to read a few books with Grandmama while we made potato latkes for Hanukkah. Being exhausted, overstimulated, and a little bit under the weather, Cara had a tough time waiting for dinner. When it came, she enjoyed the asparagus and was not impressed by the latkes (more for everyone else!). Fortunately, Aunt Claire had the brilliant idea of giving Cara some applesauce. I got a bowl and a spoon, and soon Cara was very, very happy. A little while later we looked over to see not Cara but the bowl in front of her face as she held it to her mouth to slurp out what little remained! This continued, with accompanying noises, for some time.

Downstairs, we opened presents. Cara sat in my lap and I let her rip the paper off her two books. We got One Fish, Two Fish and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb! Cara loved ripping the paper off. She went to help other people rip their paper off, too! Eventually she did sit down and let me read a book to her. This being a festival of oil, we had donuts. Grandmama shared her chocolate one with Cara, who had already had her sweater removed due to applesauce saturation and who proceeded to get chocolate all over. It was fast approaching bedtime, and Cara, napless, was exhausted. With the donuts, she got a second wind and ran about, making trouble. Several times she just kind of walked up to me, grinning, and then left again.

After company left, it was bath time. There was considerable running involved, including a nude dash down the hall post-bath, pajamas in hand. Cara also lay down a few times in the office, which means she was really tired. She got to brush her teeth but she didn't get to brush the kitties' teeth, she heard one book, and she went to bed.

12/17/06 (Sunday)

Cara had a very good night's sleep which continued later than usual. She awoke with her cough, but got some lovely cough medicine to drink. Cara and I shared some nice toast for breakfast, and in general we hung about and played until Mommy and Daddy were ready and Cara's laundry was done. Cara loves to get rides up and down the hall in the laundry basket, and this morning she got some. Excited over this, Cara walked out into the hall, sat down on the carpet, and started scooting on her bottom, yelling "Whee!" Somehow it didn't seem quite the same to me, but she seemed to enjoy it.

Her use of the "where are you?" phrase (which in her case has now been shortened to "Ahh yooo!") was very very excessive today, and often it did not fit the circumstances: she would be yelling "Ahh yooo?" at something which was clearly in her line of vision. But this morning she was calling "Ahh yooo? Poooh, Peet!" Now we were pretty safe in assuming that "Pooh" meant Winnie the Pooh; but what was "Peet"? Evie eventually theorized that it meant "Piglet." We wandered about the house looking for her stuffed Piglet toy in order to test this theory--I finally had the bright idea to look in the coat closet, and found her little pink plastic suitcase, inside of which was poor little Piglet. It seems that he is indeed "Peet" in Cara-speak.

She had very much wanted to go out and take some critters for a ride in her stroller, but for most of the morning she was not dressed for it. Once we finally got her dressed and got her outside with her stroller, it was time to put her in the car so she could go see her grandparents. She was strolling down the street away from our car, but I convinced her to go back and we put the stroller in the back seat (though it turned out it never got used). She happily went into the car once Mommy explained where we were headed.

Like yesterday, our hopes that Cara would nap were crushed. She remained fairly quietly awake for the whole trip south. But she was very happy to see her grandparents, and laughed at that silly Rusty. (Throughout the day she would often call "Doggie! Aaahh yooo!" only to tell him "No, no! Stop!" ("Stop" is "Dop" in Cara-speak) when he was near. Poor Rusty.) We had a nice lunch and Cara got to eat vegetable soup and yogurt. She got to look at some of the holiday books I had when I was a kid, and watched some nice animated movies in the same vein. She got to see a light-up tree and got to carry around a stuffed tree which had many little pom-poms on it which we had to constantly take out of her mouth. She got to see my parents' trains run on their track downstairs, which was great. She wore a cute little engineer's hat that I or my brother used to wear when we were little.

Cara also had a nice trip out back. The first thing she did was to head straight to the corner of the yard where my parents keep a decorative bunny statuette. She toyed with it for a while, as she has on previous visits, and then it was put back. Later she wandered about the yard looking in bushes: "Bunny! Aaahhh yoooo!" She was also happy to watch Rusty run after his squeaky toy. Finally, she had the added fun of getting rolled around in a wheelbarrow by her Grandpa!

After all this, including some Daddy-assisted jumps inside, Cara was definitely tired. When in her high chair eating she looked very spaced out. But it never seemed to really slow her down; Rusty was more exhausted than she in the evening. When we finally got her into the car, she fell asleep almost instantly, and slept until we arrived home. As we had predicted, she awoke utterly miserable, which just seems to be what happens when she naps late in the day in a car. She stayed miserable for some time: I read her some books, we skipped her bath and got her into her pajamas, she got more medicine and brushed her teeth, and went into the bedroom with the lights dimmed to have her bedtime books read to her. But soon enough she was popping back out of the bedroom again (it was still early), a big smile on her face, crying "Wheee!!" as she bumped down the stairs.

Then it was time for Cara's traditional staying up late insanity. Everything was funny and everything that could be climbed on needed to be climbed on. She had to eat her cheese stick while turning around and around in the middle of the living room. But once she was done that Mommy took her upstairs and read her her bedtime stories for real and put her down--where she is chatting, but will hopefully soon fall asleep.

As a final note, I have realized lately that "Doggie" and "Daddy" sound very much alike when Cara says them. I have to be careful now when I think Cara is addressing me. But I did get some nice signs of affection today. I came into the room where Cara was and sat down, and she said "Daddy," and hugged me. And this evening I received an official Cara air kiss, while she was in the middle of her staying up late insanity. I guess it still counts.

12/18/06 (Monday)

Cara's lovely morning began in the arms of her daddy, who stuck around until the last minute, hugging his wonderful daughter. Cara still coughs and wheezes but she seems to be feeling quite good--she plays and pays attention to the changing world around her; she eats with good appetite. Two things: 1)Cara spoke a sentence--she said "Here is Daddy" when finding one of her playschool (that's Playmobil!) figures. 2)while watching the Mickey Mouse Club, Cara demonstrated again that she's afraid of their large black bear gatekeeper and villain, Pete, without realizing that Mickey Mouse is the Chairmouse and CEO of the entire Disney enterprise and cannot possibly be harmed by his lowly employee. I have told her this several times but she does not comprehend. She turns away and tries to hide each time Pete appears.

Later in the morning we made a quick visit to BJ's where Cara did get some responses from strangers from her 'hi' and 'bye' gestures.

Since she was up at six A.M. I put her in for her nap at about 11:30, a little early. So far (twenty minutes later) it doesn't seem to be taking--she's up there talking to Piglet and the other creatures who inhabit her crib with her.

One thing that surprises me about the Mickey Mouse Club is that no matter how much money Pete tries to extort from Mickey, that mouse always has enough, with exact change. Anyway, I also had a nice morning with Cara while Steve got showered. When Cara got up, she directed me over to her changing table. She has never done this before. I changed her. I hope that was what she expected me to do. When we went into the hallway, Daddy was brushing his teeth. "Brush!" Cara said. I didn't understand her and tried a couple of alternatives before I realized Steve's interpretation was right and let her brush her teeth. While I ate breakfast, Cara sat in her high chair and ate. I opened a can of oranges for her. It contained 3.5 servings. When she was done, it contained .5.

When I got home in the afternoon, Cara and Grandpapa were playing upstairs. I got a nice hug, and Grandpapa hit the road. It was a very domestic afternoon. I taped several coloring pictures to Cara's table, so the pages will stay put while she draws on them. She helped me smooth the tape down. Julianna came over and gave Cara some clothes and a cool toy. It's a plastic book of nursery rhymes and songs. It's interactive; there are pieces that move and trigger recordings of the words. It's a perfect gift for Cara! After that we went outside and when we tried to come back in both cats got out! Cara helpfully chased them with me, driving them further away and making them more nervous. I don't know, maybe avoiding her made them easier for me to catch.

I started to make dinner, which would have been nothing fancy, when Em and Ron called. We went over there for dinner, bringing tortellini. As soon as I asked her whether she wanted to go to PJ's house, Cara started putting the pots and pans she was playing with back into the cabinet; she's never done that! Cara helped me carry presents over. Downstairs, Cara and PJ and I read some books. Well, we fought over who got to read books. Soon enough I gave up and we danced with the Wiggles. Well, I danced with the Wiggles and the kids looked at me funny.

Dinner went well; everyone got to eat, even the dog. Cara fed BJ some tortellini, using her fork. She was charmed! Next was present time: PJ carefully ripped the paper off his T-ball set, handing each piece to me or to his daddy. Cara opened a little present first. It was maracas! (One for each hand!) Her next gift, which we convinced her to open when she seemed ready to help PJ with his, was her tickle and giggle Curious George. What a big smile she had on her face! She loved both of her presents.

We got home well past time for Cara's bath. She maracaed all the way home. I stood up on the rim of the tub to wipe down the ceiling a little, and Cara came upstairs with her daddy. We're pretty sure she said, "mommy is up high." Cara had a good bath, plenty of good frolicking time, and some good books. Now she's in her nice bed.

12/19/06 (Tuesday)

The remnants of Cara's cold are really doing us all in. She was up in the night again. I think she was hungry, in addition to being awoken by her cough. She had a nice snack, but then she somehow got loose and ran downstairs and found her maracas. I took them away and Steve hauled her upstairs, read her a couple of books, and put her back down. I beat Steve back to bed and composed a nice haiku about heartbreak:

It is very sad

to lose your red maracas

at four ten a.m.

After I got up in the morning I composed another about lack of sleep, but I can't remember it.

Cara had a great day at Susan's. Em was there to pick up Casey and PJ while I got Cara, and we got to guess whose art project was whose. Each child colored in a Christmas tree and decorated it with glittery decals. I knew right away which one was done by my little girl. I would recognize Cara's curlicues and strange angles anywhere. She draws in a rather circuitous way, somehow. PJ's had more crayon on it; he used a more straightforward approach and covered more ground. It was impressive.

We did some quick groceries and when we got home Cara had a fig Newton. When her daddy got home, she had a cheese stick. Then she had another cheese stick. We had leftovers for dinner, and Cara ate a hot dog. Then she ate another hot dog. Then more cheese. Then some strawberries. We noticed that she did not lack energy or enthusiasm.

Cara has added the word "this" to her repertoire. We read a book with farm animals, and when I asked her "what is this?" she answered "this piggy" rather than just plain "piggy" half of the time. "This" is popping up all over her speech now; it's something PJ has been doing for quite a while. At daycare, PJ learned to say "please." When Cara was asking for more at dinner, I asked her to say "please," and she did! I am satisfied with her saying "thank you," but I did want to see whether she could do it. Another thing Cara tends to say is "bye, kitty!" She said it to me this evening, in fact.

Cara likes to say "bye!" and shut the door, waving to us and shutting us into a room. This evening she tried it, but she had her ball popper with her. It was halfway in and halfway out of the doorway, which really ruined her exit.

12/20/06 (Wednesday)

I met Cara outside Linwood today, and we headed for the twins. We brought them a present, and they got us one, too. Cara got a little tool bench, which is exactly what she needs to play with while her Grandpa Jim works in the basement. Maybe he can show her how some of the tools work.

I noticed a funny thing. It looked like Cara was hugging one of the twins! Usually, they make her kind of nervous. Today, though, she seemed to have turned a corner. She definitely hugged Lina and Sarah at different times during the playdate, and Lina even got a kiss that may not have been an air-kiss. (I didn't see it from an angle to determine the distance involved.)

While Lina was being read to, Sarah and Cara played. Sarah stood by the storm door and pulled the big front door shut on herself, saying "Bye!" With a little bit of encouragement, Cara went to search for Sarah. She found her! They went through this again and again. Cara kept saying something that meant either "Come in" or "Lina." I couldn't decide which. I wonder whether she can tell them apart. The twins also showed Cara their Christmas tree decorations, and they all looked at books together. I was really happy that they were finally playing like equals.

Dinner was at our house tonight, and the kids were all pretty good. Casey played in the exersaucer throughout the meal, which was impressive. Cara and PJ had some asparagus, some pasta, and some hot dog. When PJ started to get restless, I had what turned out to be a good idea. I got out some strawberries! Both kids had gobbled down several before I put them back away.

After dinner the playdate moved downstairs. Steve and Cara headed for the game room, where they found the Weebles' treehouse. Steve heard Cara say "Weebles," but the best part came when they opened up the treehouse and found an interloper inside. It was a cardboard circle from her matching book about baby animals on the farm; it was the little dog. Cara instantly saw how wrong this was. "No, no, puppy!" she told him.

Cara was very babbly this evening. At dinner I thought it was funny to see the three men--Steve, Ron, and PJ--all just staring at her as she rattled on, saying absolutely nothing. While she was playing in the game room we could hear her calling PJ, whose name she sometimes pronounces correctly. While Cara was in the bath, Steve and I tried to have a conversation. It was difficult, because Cara, hearing us calling to each other, decided that it must be free-shouting time. There were a lot of words in her babble, including a lot of "Mommy" and "Daddy," but nothing really made sense.

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