"That boy baby," "Carpet on the wall" and other Kalina adventures

Hi guys, this is Kalina. I'm writing today's post because Mommy's acting kind of weird. She's muttering a lot, often something about "...4 months old again?" and "...check into a hotel, better yet check her into a hotel." I don't know what her problem is.

Anyway, it's been a big week and a half. Word of my cuteness has spread far and wide, and so several adoring pilgrims have trekked across the country to visit. Mommy mentioned something about "...see how cute she is at 5:00 a.m..." under her breath.

It began with Mommy's friend Krista and that 5-month-old boy baby, Noah. I didn't mind Krista (although she wasn't worthy of holding me for more than 2 minutes, and that only once), but the boy baby definitely had cooties. I didn't like him, not one bit. Mommy seemed to, though--she even made me watch him eat his solid food, muttering something about "...2 and a half months younger than you and he can manage to eat his cereal...." It may have something to do with the fact that I'll eat about 8 Cheerios a day now and that's it for solid food, but I'm not sure.

Not only did he invade my turf, but he used a lot of my stuff--the pack n play I only use when we travel, and the baby bathtub and bouncy seat I've outgrown. Worse, Mommy occasionally even held him! Those arms are reserved for me, buster. Besides, I'd never willingly let anyone other than Mommy hold me, so why should he? Weird.

I responded by fussing every 5 seconds for an entire day, especially when Mommy wasn't holding me, and running a fever. I must've gotten my point across because eventually they left, thank goodness.

We did have a little fun, though. We all went to the park and sat outside. I liked the playground equipment, but still don't quite trust it. Especially the slide.

Even better, Krista took my picture lots of times. It was like getting followed around by the paparazzi, but I'm getting used to having a good fan base so I tolerated it fairly well. When I was tired of it I started crying and she'd usually stop. I think she got some great photos of me--I will put some in this blog so you can all admire my cuteness.

And then Grandma arrived! I let her hold me occasionally and even babysit me for a little while. However, I'd still say that 100% of my awake time (and really, 100% of my sleeping time, which hasn't been much lately) I'd prefer Mommy to anyone else. I know Mommy feels the same way because I heard her saying "...just so tired of hearing her cry...."

I performed all my new tricks, including pulling the rings off of my rock-n-stack toy, rocking back and forth on my hands and knees, flexing my wrist, passing toys from one hand to the other and giving them a good shake, and getting really close to standing on my own. I got way more applause from Grandma than I usually do from Mommy. Mommy muttered something about "...when you spend 100% of your time with the baby..." but I didn't see what that would have to do with showing a little appreciation once in a while.

And then we were off to Washington, D.C. We timed the drive around my naps so I didn't freak out too much, and Mommy said something about "...it was great to just have some time to quietly read...." Not sure what she means by that.

I liked exploring our hotel room--it's always good to have a change of scenery. I was finished exploring after about 30 minutes, though, so Mommy took me around to look at the hotel. Everyone said I was cute, but all Mommy could mutter was "...backache...." I'm not sure why, but I do know that I fidgeted and fussed a lot and whenever I did Mommy helped me walk around. I love walking! Sometimes I think I could walk all day!

That night I decided I definitely wanted at least one nighttime feeding, and I got it--anything I wanted just to keep me quiet! Mommy mentioned something about the other hotel guests, but I don't know what they would have to do with anything.

The next day we packed me up and we all went to visit the sites of D.C. And what sites! One exhibit wall even had carpet on it! How funny is that?!? Carpet on a wall! Carpet doesn't belong on walls, it belongs on the floor! So to see it on a wall was hilarious! We all laughed and I got my picture taken with the funny carpet. I think that was my favorite site. Mommy muttered something about "...all the way to D.C. and she likes carpet..." but fortunately she was smiling.

They all say I did great, but I don't quite understand how I could not do great. Am I not Kalina, cute baby extraordinaire? All I know is that I too a nice nap in my stroller, didn't fuss too much and kept my diaper relatively clean. They tell me we went to the American History Museum, the Air and Space Museum and the National Botanical Center. I still can't get over that carpet, though! Hah!

The next day we went home after dropping Grandma off at the airport. I was sad to see her go, and even sadder to find myself back in my carseat. Mommy did a lot of muttering about chocolate and Advil. She said she probably would've muttered more, but her throat hurt too much--probably something I passed onto her from last week. I'm glad I'm feeling better, and have plenty of energy!

Back at home, Mommy and Daddy both mentioned something about "...all sleep well tonight..." so I made sure to wake up more often than usual so we could check in with each other about how well we were all sleeping.

And that brings us to today! Mommy said something about getting me back to normal, but I'm not sure I remember what normal is anymore. I sure hope this doesn't involve sleep training me yet again...

But seriously, carpet on the wall!!! Still laughing.