For the past few weeks we have been working on transitioning Kylie from bottles to sippy cups, and with the exception of her bed time bottle, we have finished this task. Kylie will now drink all of her day time drinks from her sippy cups; these drinks mainly consist of juice and water. In addition to this she also understands that she needs to be sitting down when she is drinking and will regularly walk over to the couch and climb up into it when we give her her sippy cup. On the few occasions that she does not go directly to the couch, we simply ask “Kylie, can you please sit down to drink?” and she will either then proceed to the couch or on some occasions Daddy’s La-z-boy and then have her drink.

On a number of occasions, like when we are at a restaurant, we have given her the opportunity to drink from the establishment’s child cup, which is usually a plastic cup with a cover and a straw. However, Kylie has not gotten the hang of the whole drinking through a straw procedure yet. That is until today. Tiffany said that earlier today Kylie drank almost an entire cup of water through a straw at Big Boy. So as of now Kylie is drinking through a straw in addition to her sippy cup.

We are very happy with this progress and will continue to attempt to fully transition her off of her bottle. I think once we get her used to drinking her milk from a sippy cup, her night time bottle will be more easily transitioned away from.

Kylie turned 13 months old today, this last month didn’t seem to go buy as fast as all the others. Not really sure why, but in a way i liked it, I don’t feel like my time with her is flying by. I know all parents say that time goes by fast when their children are young, and this past year I really realized what everyone means. So seeing how this past month seemed to go by at a “normal” pace, it was real nice. This past month wasn’t all that busy, Kylie did a few new things but basically she is right where she should be developmentally, now we are right about at the point where she is going to stat picking up on new words and/or phrases. This month she did start walking backwards, made her first phone call, and had her second ear infection along with an eye infection. She has also picked up a few new words as well, and her new favorite phrase is “What’s that?” while pointing at an object. She also expresses her interest in things by pointing to them and saying “Oooo”, which is really cute to see. The only other new development is that Tiffany thinks she is starting to learn how to throw little temper tantrums, as she will more easily now when she doesn’t get her way. Like when we put her down for a second and do not immediately pick her back up and things like that.

I suppose I should also address pictures, or the lack there of as I am now a month behind, something that has not happened in a long time. I have somewhere in the vicinity of 500 pictures for month 12, this can be attributed to Kylie’s first birthday party and Nana’s visit. So it has taken me an abnormally long time to process all the pictures, as of right now I still have roughly 70 more pictures to process and get ready for posting, as soon as they are done I am going to get them up in the gallery. As for this month’s pictures, well I think it should go without saying that if I am a month behind they are not ready either, but in addition to this I don’t think we took to many this past month, so when the do make it up don’t expect a lot.

Kylie has always been fascinated by our cell phones, and she plays with them when ever she can get her hands on them. She has recently discovered how to open them, as mine and Tiffany’s are both clam shell styled phones, and today, in a round about way, she learned how to make a phone call. Tiffany was changing Kylie and Kylie was playing with her phone, when all of a sudden her phone rang. She answered it (and it was set to speaker phone) and it was my Mom (Nana), who proceeded to ask Tiffany if she had just called because her phone rang and the called id said it was Tiffany, but when she had answered it there was no one there to talk to. So my Mom had called back to make sure that nothing was wrong and to say hello as well. As it turns out, and Tiffany explained to Mom, Kylie must have managed to press the speed dial button on the phone that is designated for Mom and hit the send button, thus placing a call (her first phone call ever) to her Nana, and at that time the speaker phone must not have been on. During this explanation while the speaker phone was on, Kylie was happily chattering away with her Nana and even saying “Nana”. I am sure this was not an intentional phone call, but it is her first phone call none the less, and to her Nana.

Last night (Tuesday) I noticed Kylie doing something a little differently than normal, she was walking backwards. Not for long distances or anything, mainly she would be looking at something, like the TV, and walking backwards towards the couch, the whole time giggling. Then when she would bump into the couch she would laugh and usually stretch back over it. I mentioned this to Tiffany and that is when she told me that this was something that Kylie started doing yesterday (Tuesday), and that Kylie seems to think it is very amusing. So I started to play with her while she was doing it. I would stretch my leg out so that she would bump into my leg before she reached the couch, and she would reach behind her without turning around and feel my leg, and then start laughing. It is rather cute to watch her play like this, and we are very happy at her new found sense of coordination, as, it appears, is she.

After a few days of being on her medication, Kylie seems to be feeling much better. Her eye is no longer producing excess mucus and is no longer red. I can only assume her ear is feeling better as well, as the only signs we had of that were of her being fussy when it was time for her to take a nap or go to bed. Although she has a few days of medicine remaining, we are happy with the rapid results. In addition, Kylie does not seem to have any problems taking her medicine for this ear infection like she did the last time she had one, this is a very good thing, as last time we had to mix it with her food in order to get her to take it.

Yesterday when Kylie woke up her right eye had a lot of greenish mucus in it, to the point where we had to take a washcloth and wipe it away, in addition to that her eye was slightly red and a little puffy. Considering this is not at all normal and she has previously had an issue with this same eye, Tiffany decided to call Kylie’s doctor. They said that considering the mucus was not clear; that it was not a blocked tear duct again and that it could be one of two things; an eye infection, or strangely enough, an ear infection. As such this morning Tiffany took Kylie to see the doctor and as it turns out she has both and eye and ear infection. This could explain why she has been fussy when it has come time for her nap and for going to bed for the night, as ear infections tend to hurt more when you are laying down, other than that and prior to the eye mucus, Kylie had been her typical happy self. This now makes the second ear infection that Kylie has had; I am hoping that this will not be a trend like I had when I was younger. Though I do not want her to grow up to quickly, I am, however, looking forward to when Kylie is able to more fully talk and express when and where she is hurting so we may be able to more quickly sooth her discomfort.

Recently Kylie has been having a hard time dealing with Tiffany being away from her. I say Tiffany because that is mainly when it happens, when she leaves the room or puts Kylie down. Kylie will begin to cry the moment Tiffany is out of site or out of her arms. I had mentioned separation anxiety in a previous post, and it would seem that it has returned in force. According to Tiffany’s messages from babycenter, this is still perfectly normal:

If your child gets upset when you leave her now, she’s right on schedule. Twelve to 18 months is prime time for separation anxiety — a psychological term that means your baby can’t bear to be without you. The best way to handle painful farewells is to keep them short and sweet. Say goodbye with a quick kiss and head out the door. Don’t sneak out, but don’t prolong the agony with extended hugging and comforting. Your baby’s tears will subside soon after you’re out of sight. It’s hard not to feel guilty, but in the long run you’ll help your child become more independent if you don’t hover.

Though this is normal it can sometimes be very frustrating. I think I understand why she is having this issue mainly with Tiffany though, as she tends to still spend more of her time with me due to work schedules and such. In any event we know it is a temporary issue, and ultimately a good one.

Kylie had her one year check up today, and I have to say we are more than happy with the results. Kylie now weighs a healthy 21.8 pounds and is 28.75 inches tall (2 feet 4.75 inches), both of which are within the 50th percentile for her age. In addition to this her head is 46cm around (which is actually in the 75th percentile for her age). The doctor had asked how she was doing with walking, because as of our last visit with him she was just starting to try to walk, and at this point Kylie promptly began walking around the room. He was rather pleased to hear that she had been walking since about 9 and a half months and said that this was early for her to have been walking so well. He than asked what, if any, words Kylie had spoken; so Tiffany and I began rattling off words: “Mama, Dada, Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Baby, Hi, night-night…” He cut us off right about then and said that this was very good as children who walk early tend to not talk early, and then he said something that caused both Tiffany and I to both feel very good about and beam happily about for the rest of the day; “She is developmenttaly advanced for her age.” We are both so very happy and proud of Kylie. We have our next checkup in about 3 months, so I am sure there will be more information by then if not sooner.

Today is Kylie’s birthday! Happy first birthday Kylie! Though we had her party last Saturday, today is the day she turns 1 year old! It is hard to believe that a year has already gone by and that she has gotten so big. It has been a very exciting and eventful year in her life. She has grown and accomplished so much. Some of the milestones she has hit this year include (in no particular order):

• Rolling over
• Crawling
• Walking
• Climbing
• Talking
• Gaining 4 teeth
• Partially feeding herself

For a more in depth look at some of the things that have occurred in Kylie’s first year, read through her archive.

First of all I would like to say Happy Father’s Day to all the Father’s out there.

Today we spent the day with my brother at his in-laws house (because they have a pool). It was a very nice day, filled with fun in the pool and grilling and just good times in general. For what I think may be the first time, I actually went swimming with my daughter and though it was short lived (the water was a little chilly for her) it was very nice. We even got some pictures of her and I in the water and they will be posted when the rest of the pictures get posted.

On a more personal note… today was both a happy and a sad day for me.

It was a happy day because today is my very first Father’s Day as a father. As those of you who have read my site ever before you will know that I am the very proud father of a very happy and out going little girl named Kylie. She entered this world on June 20, 2005 and my life has been brighter ever since. Well last year Father’s Day fell on the 19th, so I was not a father on Father’s Day last year, but I have had the joy of being a father for almost a full year now. So today is a happy day for me.

However, today is also a sad day as it is the first Father’s Day since my Father passed away. I spent a good portion of the morning silently remembering some of the things that my Father and I used to do, and one memory stood out more than any other, and I guess that has a lot to do with the day.

When I was younger and still in grade school I remember the school giving us a coupon for a free breakfast at McDonalds on Father’s Day. It was never much and Dad always had to pay for at least one breakfast, but it is something that I remember doing with him every year for a number of years. This memory is one I never really thought of before, but today it seems very special, very much missed and very vivid.

I would give almost anything to have one more Father’s Day breakfast at McDonalds with you Dad; I love you and miss you very much. Thank you for everything you tried to teach me and to instill in me. I know I am the man I am today at least in part because of you. I love you. Happy Father’s Day!