The plan is no plan...

This entry is not so much about my daughter Abby, to which this Blog was originally started, but instead about my first daughter Grace.  Some background is that Abby started daycare on Monday the 19^th of September and her daycare is one that is very close to my work.  As a result of the convenience and the available slots, Grace will be starting there on Monday the 26^th.  A short plug to say that Gentle Beginnings LLC was the perfect place for Grace during the first year of her life, and that it is only circumstance that has us moving the girls to a new organization. 

So this is Grace’s last week at GB LLC and Kristy has been taking her there each morning and picking her up each night, which relieved me of the task and the stress of the 50 minute commute.  I have been taking Abby to and from her daycare since its 5 minutes from my work and as a result have been getting to work on time, leaving after a full day and feeling less stress over the commute.  Life is going great.  The plan is in place and seems to be working.  One more week and both girls will be going to the same place making it even easier that it is right now.

And then divine intervention gave us an important lesson…”The plan is that there can be no plan.”

At lunch on the 20^th I received a call from Grace’s day care that she had an accident and got hurt.  Let me tell you now, and give you the spoiler, she is perfectly fine and we will all laugh about this in the near future (we are laughing about it a bit now in fact).  The short of it is that she was playing near an exer-saucer, pulling up to stand and doing all of the things that a normal 15-month old does, when another boy, who we will call Paul to protect his identity, came over and leaned on the same side of the toy toppling it over on her and he on top of the toy itself.  Needless to say, she had all of this on her face.  GB LLC was very upset, and after assuring them that, “this sort of thing happens”, it was recommended that I come and pick Grace up and take her to the doctor just to be sure that there was no real damage.  There wasn’t.

So the plan for the day was to go t work, spend the whole day focusing on the things that make us money and allow us to survive and instead I worked a half day, spent an hour at the doctor’s office between waiting and being seen, and now have a child that looks like Two Face from Batman.  Again, Grace is alright and has nothing but a bruise and a few abrasions that will fade over time and is in perfectly good spirits.  So much for that plan. 

The new measurement…

It is funny how when your kids are pulling up to stand that everything is measured in terms of arms length. 

Our daughter Grace, now almost 15 months of age is pulling up on everything but the kitchen sink (because it is still too high for her).  Part of our “baby proofing” measures have included soft bumpers around the coffee table, plug covers on the ones she can actually reach, and free standing gates (or as I like to call them – dog cages) around the living room so that we can contain her, somewhat.  Short side note on the gates: I felt very guilty when my wife and I bought them because I did not want to feel like we were putting our child in a dog pen, but I have to say that they are high enough, sturdy enough and rugged enough to be placed about the room and still allow her to have a large space to play in.

So now that the child is gated, and somewhat child proofed, the last thing we realized to do was to remove everything off the top of the coffee table.  On more than one occasion Grace has almost pulled a drink on the floor, grabbed dinner off our plates, and always grabs Abby’s things: burp cloths, bottles and pacifiers.  So now the table is barren with the exception of what we can place at the very middle of the opposite end where she, for now, can’t reach.

What’s next: measurement by height?

Valet almost drove off with my kids...

So the other day Kristy had her 6-week post partum appointment with the doctor that has delivered Abby.  The offices where this doctor works are connected to the hospital and conveniently placed near a parking garage.  Though the garage is only a few steps away, with two kids in tow, it is much easier to use the free valet service that they offer at that entrance of the hospital complex.  Did I mention that it is free?  They don’t even allow you to tip.  So Kristy sends me a text while in the waiting room of the office that begins like this:

Kristy: Lol the valet almost drove off with one of my kids!!
Kristy: I said hold on, just gotta get the kids outta the car
Kristy: And I think he thought I only had one
Jkaffko: LOL
Kristy: He started driving away and I banged on the car!!
Jkaffko: Too funny
Kristy: I hope I didn't scratch my new car!
Jkaffko: Did he feel bad?
Kristy: Yea he was like "oh my goodness I would have freaked out if I heard a little voice back there!"
Jkaffko: Hahahahahahahaha

I can’t imagine how that guy would have felt had he drove off to the garage only to discover that there was a 14 month-old in the back seat.  Had it been the Abby, all of 6 weeks, she may not have made a noise at all.  Clearly this story does not end in a horrific, “what if” because Kristy would have stood there until the valet strolled on back whistling and twirling her keys about his right index finger.  I can see it now, “hey mister, I have another kid in the car that you just parked.  Here is my ticket, do you mind bringing the car around?”