Chivalry is not Chauvinistic or Dead.

I read this article from The Frisky web site on CNN's web site about why men should buy flowers for their romantic partner. But it could apply to any thoughtful gesture between a couple. Not to brag, but my husband is really good at this. I could be better.

The point the author was trying to make is that buying your partner flowers, their favorite dessert/junk food or a trinket that they swooned over in a catalog or while shopping recently demonstrates that you were thinking about them when they weren't there. You were not thinking about your anger or how much they irritate you but of how you could make them happy. How purely loving and romantic, especially if you are not merely 'a courting each other.

Kate is One Year Old!

Kate turned one year old on Wed., August 19, 2009. We celebrated her birthday the previous Saturday afternoon with a party at our house. She seemed to enjoy every part of it after she got used to having so many family and neighbors in one place. She adored tearing into her own birthday cake and into all of her many gifts. Unfortunately, she got poked with 3 more immunizations on her actual birthday. She is now 30.5 inches tall and 24 pounds--both exactly in the 89th percentile. She also has many more teeth growing in, including some molars.

Since getting a bunch of push and pull toys, her walking skills have improved. She practices all the time and can now walk across the living room without assistance. She is so proud of herself.

She is weaned from her bottle and from formula and now drinks whole milk out of a sippy cup in addition to nearly everything that we eat. She only uses her pacifier at nap and bedtime now, too. She constantly babbles in a conversational tone and enjoys flirting with people who catch her fancy in the grocery store or a restaurant.

11 Months and Walking!

Kate turned 11 months old on Sunday and visited her great aunts, cousins, Great-Grandma Rosalie and Grandparents. We decided to put her in one of my old dresses and bonnets. I thought this was a great effect, even though the dress is still a bit big on her. Bonnets are the shiznit!

Kate also took her first major steps towards walking full time last night--5 steps in a row towards Dada to be exact. Because her Uncle Trey is staying with us, he got to witness this important event first hand. The photo to the left depicts the actual steps.

Last week while all 3 of us enjoyed some ice cream at the shop downtown, Kate spotted a local police officer in full uniform standing in line for ice cream. Admiring his impressive ensemble, she quickly made eye contact with him and proceeded to beckon him towards her using her index finger. He slowly saddled up alongside her and gave her a police badge sticker. She was thrilled, and we were amazed at her behavior. This was the first time we saw her do that.

Lately, besides the walking thing and gaining 4 additional top front teeth, she thrives on gaining the attention of strangers and everyone in a given room by laughing loudly and hysterically or engaging in other similar hijinx. I dare anyone not to smile in response to such enthusiasm. She is such a happy girl.

10 months old!

Here is our big girl this past weekend. She visited her Grandma CeCe, Grandpa Joe and Great-Grandma Rosalie on Saturday while Dada shot a wedding. She is cruising all over the house on the furniture with her curious hands and mouth on everything. Needless to say, gates are in effect, and the cats are learning to run when she squeals near them. She is feeding herself finger foods and even liking meat now that it is not pureed. Cheese, yogurt and Cheerios are among her favorites.

On Dada's first Father's Day, she helped him open his gifts and presented him with this poem:

Thank you, Dada
for cleaning my poo
like you so often do,
for playing me Dvorak, Beethoven and ZZ Top—
they rock!

Thank you, Dada
for taking me out to play
or just finger painting on a rainy day,
for tossing me up in the air
and blowing raspberries to show you care.

Thank you, Dada
for carrying me on your shoulders so high
that I nearly touch the sky,
for knowing just how to clip my nails
and tickle my toes.

But not everybody knows
that you hold me when I cannot sleep
and soothe my tears when I weep.
You bathe, burp and feed,
adeptly caring for my every need.

You teach me--
to talk,
to walk,
to laugh,
to gently love animals (whether Roxy, Kanu or a baby calf),
to eat healthy foods,
to not be rude,
to trust and let go,
and to watch a garden grow.
And so I wanted to say thank you, Dada,
for showing me the way
on this your first Father’s Day.

Medical Decisions for your Children.

The case of Minnesota 13-year-old Daniel Hauser and his parents recently thrust the issue of religious/parental rights vs. a government's right to intervene and prevent child medical neglect in the national spotlight. This article summarizes other, similar cases and their outcomes throughout the years, making it abundently clear that the issue is far from black and white. I found it especially interesting in the article above that one set of parents would get their family dog vaccinated regularly due to legal mandates but would opt out of vaccinating their children and seeking medical treatment based upon their religious convictions.

In my opinion, there needs to be a multi-pronged approach to this medical, ethical and legal question. If the child is mature enough to understand the treatment options, risks and benefits, then the court should defer to the child's preferences as expressed through his own legal representative. However, if the child is too young, uneducated or immature to make this decision for himself, his own legal representative should, together with medical professionals and child welfare officials, collaborate to develop the appropriate treatment plan, regardless of the parents' religious beliefs. To me, doing otherwise is child neglect and endangerment.

Of course, my opinion is colored by the fact that I do not belong to a religion that eschews traditional medical treatment. But I agree that a line needs to be drawn between parental rights and state rights where medical treatment and other issues are concerned. There is a potential slippery slope if the line hovers too far toward state rights. For example, should the state intervene to require vegan parents to feed their children foods it deems more appropriate to sustain their growing bodies? Should the state be allowed to forbid a parent from homeschooling their child or treating a non-life threatening illness with homeopathic or alternative medicine rather than traditional drugs? There are already state mandates regarding child car seat use, school attendance and some vaccinations are required before children can attend daycare or public school.

What concerned me most about the Hauser case was that, although he was 13, Daniel was homeschooled, illiterate and could not even identify the word "the" when tested by a teacher for entrance into a charter school. In addition, doctors testified that chemotherapy had an over 90% success rate in curing his type of Hodgkins lymphoma. In fact, the cancer was responsive to the one treatment he previously had and grew larger once treatment stopped. I think the judge in this case did an excellent job of weighing the issues and crafting a reasonable resolution that did not separate a scared child in extreme pain from his concerned, but perhaps misguided, parents during his next set of chemotherapy treatments.

9 months old.

Kate turned 9 months old yesterday. Here she is on the swings at Patriarche Park in East Lansing last Sunday. Today, she had her 9 month well-baby visit and continues to thrive. Her iron and hemoglobin levels were excellent, and she did not have to receive any vaccinations this time. She is 22 lbs, 4 ozs (93rd percentile) and 29 inches long (91st percentile) up from 19 lbs, 11 ozs and 27 1/4 inches 3 months ago.

She is cruising on the furniture and standing alone for a few seconds at a time. Walking cannot be all that far behind. We are working on waving and feeding herself bite-sized foods. The girl loves her oat puffs and Yo Baby yogurt, fruits, veggies and some table foods but still looks at meats with derision. And, much to our chagrin, she does not understand the concept of "no!"

She loves to be sung and read to, be hung upside down, to dance with Mama or Dada and to play on the swing or slide at the playground. C takes her to an infant play group and to storytime at the public library once per week. We cannot believe it is already time to plan her first birthday party!

First Mother's Day

Grandma and Kate Mama & Kate

C bought me a dozen orange roses and three cards for Mother's Day--one from Kate (with her finger painted autograph), one from the cats and one from C. We then had brunch at my Grandma's with my Mom, Stepdad, aunts, uncle and cousins. What a perfect first Mother's Day!