18 Month Check-Up

This afternoon we headed off to the doctor’s for Kaitlyn’s 18 month check-up.  She’s doing very well.  She is now 25.8 pounds and 30.5 inches tall, which is considered average for her age.  The poor thing also got 3 shots today.  She cried for just a second, but stopped as soon as I picked her up off the table. 

She is supposed to be saying 10- 20 words and starting to put words together, which she is.  She can actually say a little over 20 words right now.  Her newest words are banana or “nana” and fish or “ish”.  Kevin also claims she has said “diaper”, but I haven’t heard that one yet.  As far as sentences, she is saying things like bye-bye baba (when she is done drinking) and “all done” when she is done eating.  She is also still calling Kevin “mama” when she sees him, but the little snot knows what she’s doing because as soon as she really wants something from him (like her cup or a snack) she will call him “daddy”.

She is running all over the place and climbing all over everything.  Last week, I caught her with her leg up on the coffee table trying to pull herself up on top of it.  She has also figured out the concept of a door knob, but hasn’t quite mastered how to actually use it.  She stands on her tip-toes and rattles the doorknob.  She has also figured out how to slide down the stairs on her butt.  One of these days she’s going to end up with a nice rug burn on her lower back from it.

Next check-up will actually be on her birthday… 2 years old!

Jacoby Ellsbury

Last week we went to another Sea Dogs game.  Jacoby Ellsbury (of the Red Sox) just happened to be playing a rehab game here.  It was a real treat to get to see him play.  He even scored the first run of the game…

Kaitlyn (with Jacoby Ellsbury in the background)

  Jacoby right after he scored…

Kaitlyn’s First Baseball Game

Well, the Pirates got swept in the first round of playoffs for the Calder Cup and the Bruins and Sabres are out of the playoffs for the Stanley Cup, so our hockey season has come to an end.  Here’s our last hockey pictures of the season… Me, Kaitlyn, and Salty Pete before the game.  It was almost 75 degrees that day!

Me,  Kaitlyn, and Travis Turnbull.  He’s the player that I mentioned in previous blogs that always waves to Kaitlyn.   We missed most of the pre-game practice this day and our friends told us he had been looking for her. 

Now we have 147 days and 5 hours until the Pirates home opener!  So, in an effort to avoid hockey withdrawal we took Kaitlyn to a Portland Sea Dogs (baseball) game.  (Note to my family: Don’t worry, Kaitlyn really is my child and is related to us.  She liked it).

We had tickets for last Tuesday.  It had been raining off and on so we called ahead and were told the game was still on.  So, we went  despite the drizzling rain…

Kevin and Kaitlyn in front of Slugger, the Sea Dogs’ mascot

We got to our seats and huddled under the umbrella.  One of the groundskeepers saw us and asked if Kaitlyn could have a ball.  Of course, we said yes.  So she came home with her first baseball (I still think her first baseball should have been an autographed one by her cousin… Philip, that’s a hint by the way).  Of course after sitting in the drizzle, they postponed the game.  So we exchanged our tickets for the next day and headed home, only to have the rain completely stop and the sun come out 20 minutes after the game was supposed to start.  Figures!

We headed back on Wednesday which actually worked out well, because it was sunny and warm… Kaitlyn, wearing her Red Sox hat (the Sea Dogs are affiliated with them and it was the closest thing we had to Sea Dogs apparel)

Kaitlyn was too busy watching the game to care about a picture…

 

After the game, Kaitlyn was waving and saying “buh-bye” to the field.  Her 18 month check-up is on the 26th, so we’ll have height and weight updates then…

Happy Easter!

We started off Easter morning by going to Mass.  While we were there, the Easter Bunny left a little something for Kaitlyn…

 

Later that afternoon, we went to the Pirates game.  Kaitlyn hit up one of our “Pirates friends” for french fries…

Our Pirates friends who sit across the aisle for us, were also nice enough to put together a big Easter basket for Kaitlyn.  She also met the Easter Bunny at the game.  She was a little wary of him up close, so we didn’t get any pictures this year.  She wouldn’t even take any candy out of his basket.

Kevin joked that the Pirates lost because Kaitlyn wasn’t wearing her trademark pigtails.  We have to make sure that isn’t the case, so she’ll definitely be wearing them on Saturday!

Busy Week

We’ve had a pretty busy week…

On Sunday, we went to a Pirates game.  Afterwards, we went to the a party that all of the players and coaches attended.  Some of our friends from the games saved us a seat at Kyle Wanvig’s (one of the players) table.  Kyle and his wife were expecting their first baby (she had a scheduled C-Section for St. Patrick’s Day), so our friends thought they would get a kick out of Kaitlyn.  Kyle remembered Kaitlyn from all the games.  It is kind of hard to miss her.  She loves to bang on the glass and blow kisses and wave at all the guys.  One of the players, Travis Turnbull, always waves at Kaitlyn during practice.

Here’s a picture of Kyle, Kaitlyn, and I…

Hanging out with Kyle on Sunday, definitely worked to our advantage.  A few days later at the next Pirates game, the puck went flying into the Pirates’ bench and just happened to land at Kyle’s feet.  He smiled at me and nodded and tossed the puck to us. 

 Kaitlyn loves her puck…

Kaitlyn has learned a new word.  It took almost 14 months for her to say “mama”, but less than one hockey season for “Cracker”.  Apparently, I rate below a mascot… Salty Pete is the other Pirates’ mascot.  Unfortunately, Kaitlyn can’t say Salty Pete yet, so she calls him “Cracker” too.  We’ll be watching the game and Kaitlyn will say “Mama, Cracker” and point at one of the mascots, wave, and blow kisses.  She apparently understands the word “hockey” too.  Kevin and I were talking about hockey in the car, and I soon as I said it, I hear Kaitlyn in the backseat saying “Cracker”.  I felt bad telling her we weren’t going to see Crackers.

Our good fortune continued as we found out on Wednesday that the Pirates would be staying in Portland!  Several months ago, the Albany River Rats were sold and their team will be moving to another city next season.  Since, the Pirate’s lease was up at the Civic Center, Albany set their sights on acquiring our team.  Senators from both states even got involved!  The Pirates came very close to moving, but at the very last second, the Pirates’ owner broke off negotiations with Albany and negotiated a new lease with the Civic Center!  We were already concerned about what we’re going to do without hockey over the summer.  We couldn’t imagine not having hockey at all.  I guess we’ll go to a few Sea Dogs games this summer and find out if Kaitlyn likes baseball!

In non-hockey related news…

I am finally back in contacts!  I’ve been wearing my glasses since Kaitlyn was born because my contacts were just too uncomfortable.  After a trip to the eye doctor, though, I have a new brand of contacts and am thrilled to be rid of the glasses again!

I have acquired my first “Mommy-Mobile”.  It’s a silver Ford Freestyle.  Kevin and I love the dual temperature controls.  My side is currently set at 80 and Kevin’s is at 65.  I have no idea how we got along without it.  Kaitlyn’s favorite feature is the moon roof.  She loves watching it open and close!

 

Saturday, it hit 70 degrees here!  We went for a drive, stopped at the beach,  and even got some ice cream!

Kaitlyn pointing out the “dogga” or dog/doggy to everyone… Kaitlyn showing us she’s ready for more ice cream…

Finally, yesterday, we went to another Pirate’s game…

Kaitlyn Videos

Here's a video of Kaitlyn snacking on Gold Fish and running around our hotel room in Niagara Falls. You can see the American Falls right outside the window. Our room was on the 37th floor (well, technically the 36th, but the hotel skipped the 13th floor)...

This video is Kevin and Kaitlyn walking along by the Falls...

Niagara Falls/ Buffalo Trip

Over the weekend, Kaitlyn became an international traveler.  We arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada on Friday afternoon.  After Kaitlyn had a short nap, we took a walk to the Clifton Park area, rode the Ferris Wheel, had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, then saw the Falls at night…

 

Just in case anyone needs a present idea for me in the future, this Hershey Store sells a 5 pound Hershey bar…  It should last me a week :-)

On Saturday, we walked along the Promenade by the Falls.   We also took the Behind the Falls tour…    

During the summer months on the Behind the Falls tour, you can see the water falling.  However, during the winter it gets iced over.  You can see the huge chunks of ice behind Kevin and Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn enjoyed coloring at lunch.

 

  We had dinner at the Brazilian Steakhouse in our hotel.  It was really good!

 

On Sunday, we headed back to the U.S.  We stopped in Niagara Falls State Park and saw the Falls from the U.S. side.  Then we stopped at the Niagara Aquarium before heading on to Buffalo and the Pirates game…     

Kaitlyn loved running around and making new friends…Kaitlyn’s favorite was the penguins.  She ran back and forth in front of their window following them.  When one stopped, she’d stop too and wave at it… She loved the Penguins so much, we had to get her a little stuffed one at the gift store.  They are now practically inseparable…       

The Pirates lost, but Kaitlyn still had fun banging on the glass!The coolest part was when we ran into the team in our hotel lobby after the game!  We even rode the elevator with Jeff Cowan!

We had a great trip and can’t wait until the next game!